Wake Potential as the Main Mechanism for Sputtering Atoms of the Metal Surface by an Electron Beam

Abstract

   The sputtering of metal atoms in a corona discharge on the surface of silver is considered. When an electron moves in a medium, charge screening occurs with a delay in space and time, which leads to the emergence of a wake potential. The excited oscillations of the wake charge lead to the appearance of additional forces. The energy loss of the moving particle per unit path length is determined by the work produced by the deceleration force that is induced by the wake potential and acts on the particle in the medium. The effect of the wake potential on the ions (atoms) of the lattice matrix is analyzed. A well-known expression is used for the wake potential excited by a charged particle moving with an energy exceeding the Fermi energy. An expression for the sputtering cross section of metal atoms under the action of the wake potential excited by the electron beam is obtained. It is shown that the result of sputtering does not depend on the charge sign of the incident particle (electron or ion). The sputtering coefficient for the corona discharge on the silver surface is estimated.