Changes in a surface of polycrystalline aluminum upon bombardment with argon ions

The interaction between argon ions and a natural oxide layer of polycrystalline aluminum is studied via Auger electron (AE) and electron energy loss (EEL) spectroscopy. It is found that bombardment with argon ions whose energy is lower than the Al₂O₃ sputtering threshold results in the accumulation of bombarding ions in interstitial surface voids, thus forming a supersaturated solid solution of target atoms and bombarding ions of argon and nitrogen entrapped by the ion beam from the residual gas of the working chamber of the spectrometer.