Comparison of Glow Discharge Cleaning and Ion-Impact Desorption of Stainless Steel

J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A 4, 3, 1232-1235 (1986).

Ruzic, D. N., Gerdin, G. A., Loxton, C., M.

The effects of glow discharge cleaning (GDC) and ion-impact desorption (IID) of impurities on 302 stainless steel were compared using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Hydrogen GDC was done in a chamber attached to the Auger microprobe allowing transfer in vacuo to lessen recontamination. GDC removed the surface hydrocarbon layer, but deposited many constituents of the cathode and surrounding areas onto the sample. It also induced a high concentration of carbon which extended beyond the surface layer. The extent of the carbon layer varied with the prior treatment of the surface. IID is shown to maintain a higher surface purity. The feasibility of helium IID as an after-opening or between-shot cleaning technique for magnetic fusion experiments is discussed.