Skip to main content

Measurement of carbon cluster emission from graphite sputtered by noble gas ions near threshold


EMSL Project ID
2259

Abstract

The relative proportion of C, C2, and C3 sputtered from graphite will be measured by bombarding a graphite sample (provided by the author) with Xenon and Krypton ions from a low energy ion gun. Measurements of sputtered species will be made by a quadrupole mass spectrometer. A thorough literature search has been carried out, and near-threshold sputtering data has not been published for noble gas ions. This data would be publishable on its own merits as basic scientific data as well as the merit of its potential use in evaluating erosion in carbon-based thruster grids for NASA.

Project Details

Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2001-05-23
End Date
2004-05-26
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Richard Stevens
Institution
Whitworth University

Team Members

Alan Joly
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory