Diamond-like carbon sputtering by laser produced Xe plasma

The sputtering of diamond-like carbon (DLC) was investigated using Xe ion bombardment from the laser plasma X-ray source (LPX). The LPX we developed uses a solid Xe target and emits UV–X-rays and Xe ions. Using the LPX as an ion source, we measured etching depths of DLC, Ru, and Au films using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) to determine their ion sputtering rates at incident angles of 0° and 70°. The calculated results by the SRIM code were able to predict the measured results, except for the case of the DLC film at 0° incident. Our measured result indicated that the DLC sputtering at 0° was ten times larger than previously reported data, in which an ion gun was used. We consider that the difference was a characteristic effect of the laser plasma, and can be explained as a synergistic effect of ion bombardment and UV radiation from the Xe plasma.