Chemical sputtering of carbon films by argon ions and molecular oxygen at cryogenic temperatures

The experiments demonstrate the existence of a synergistic interaction of molecular oxygen and energetic ions with amorphous carbon leading to enhanced erosion; although the samples, amorphous hydrogenated carbon films, are not gasified by O2 at room temperature, additional ion bombardment at the same temperature leads to erosion rates that drastically exceed those of physical sputtering. Investigation of the temperature dependence from 400 down to 113K shows that the erosion rate increases with decreasing temperature.