Experimental evaluation of MgO sputtering yields by monochromatic Ne, Kr, or Xe ion beams

Sputtering yields of microcrystalline magnesium oxide (MgO) by Ne, Kr, or Xe ion beams of normal incidence have been obtained experimentally as functions of injection energy in the range of 25–375 eV. MgO is widely used for barrier coating of plasma display panel (PDP) cells and its resistance against physical sputtering by various ion species, especially in the range of low injection energies, is valuable information for the development of highly efficient, long-lifetime PDP cells. It has been found that MgO sputtering yields depend very weakly on the mass of incident species among Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe ions in this energy range. The results indicate that a standard collision cascade model with binary collisions may not be used to account for physical sputtering mechanisms of MgO in the energy range examined here.