Sputtering of W and Al in D2/O2 plasma cleaning discharge

Abstract Ion sputtering of W, Al, and Be (in several experiments) in a low pressure DC discharge in D2/O2 mixtures was studied. Ion energy was varied by electrical biasing of the samples from −100 to −600 V with respect to the plasma. At a bias of −100 V the sputtering yields peaked with an addition of 2–4 mol.% oxygen reaching (4 ± 0.5) × 10−3, (12 ± 1) × 10−3, and (20 ± 2) × 10−3 Me at./ion for W, Al, and Be, respectively. It is supposed that chemical nature of W, Al, and Be sputtering in D2/O2 plasma is caused by formation of weakly bound surface oxides and hydroxides under impinging of reactive deuterated ions (D3O+, D3+).