A NEW VIEWPOINT ON MECHANISM OF PREFERENTIAL SPUTTERING OF Au-Cu ALLOYS

A new viewpoint on the mechanism of preferential sputtering of Au-Cu alloys suggests that the so-called preferential sputtering in Au-Cu alloys may be caused by the bombardment-induced Gibbsian segregation, but when ion energy decreases to,ward a near-threshold condition, the maBs-correlating preferential sputtering also plays a role.