Chemical sputtering of pyrolytic graphite and boron doped graphite USB15 at energies between 10 and 1000 eV

The chemical sputtering of pyrolytic graphite and boron doped graphite USB15 at ion energies down to 10 eV is presented in this paper. Hydrocarbon formation under deuterium bombardment as a function of target temperature up to 1000 K as well as thermal desorption of D2 and CD4 after room temperature implantation have been measured for different energies. The results are compared for pyrolytic graphite and boron doped graphite. The presence of boron in graphite results in a complete suppression of chemical reactivity in the bulk. Only in a shallow surface layer hydrocarbon formation persists within the first 1 nm, probably due to boron depletion. (orig.)