Mercury Ion Beam Sputtering of Metals at Energies 4–15 kev

Sputtering yields for 14 metals from the 4th, 5th, and 6th periods were measured for normally incident Hg+ ions at energies between 4–15 kev. The sputtering rate was determined by measuring the time required for the ion beam to pierce a target foil. Results for the various metals show that yields at high energy behave similarly to yields previously found at lower ion energy; i.e., are closely linked to the position of the metal in the periodic chart. Yields increase in the 4th period from Ti through V, Fe, Co, Ni to Cu and in a similar fashion in the 5th period to Ag and in the 6th period to Au. It is believed that Cu, Ag, and Au atoms with their more closely filled d shells behave more nearly like hard spheres and always produce the highest sputtering yields.