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The effect of orientation on ion beam erosion rates in ionic crystals measured by SIMS depth profiling
Author(s) -
Kilner A. M. C.,
Kilner J. A.,
Elliott J. C.,
Cressey G.,
Littlewood S. D.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.740170307
Subject(s) - sputtering , fluorapatite , materials science , ion beam , crystal (programming language) , ion , mineralogy , crystallography , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemistry , apatite , nanotechnology , thin film , organic chemistry , chromatography , computer science , programming language
There are reports in the literature that crystal orientation is a major source of variation in sputter yields when examining biomineralized tissue material. To examine this further, single crystals of fluorapatite and calcite, both mineralogical analogues, were examined with two different SIMS machines, an Atomika 2000 and a Cameca IMSA4F. Craters were eroded on planes parallel to (0001) and (10 1 0) of both samples for different lengths of time, at different angles and with different primary ion beams. Instruments were operated at a voltge of 10 or 15 kV for Cs + and O 2 + , respectively, and a primary beam current of 200 nA. The erosion times were such that all sites were exposed to high fluences of 10 18 ions cm −2 . For a given experimental geometry and primary ion beam, there wee no discernible differences in erosion rates due to crystal orientation. It is believed that this is due to amorphization of the crystal surface at the target site by site by ion bombardment at high fluences. Therefore, we conclude that crystal orientation is not a significant factor in variation of sputter yield in the materials investigated, and suggest that in biomineralized tissue material the development of surface topography is due to other factors.