Energy Distribution of Sputtered Metastable Ca Atoms

Abstract

The energy distribution of sputtered metastable Ca atoms in the ${}_{}{}^3{}_{}{}^{}P_2^{}{}_{}{}^{}$ sublevel of the lowest-lying triplet state has been measured by Doppler-shift laser-fluorescence spectroscopy. The energy distribution was found to peak at values higher than known for sputtered ground-state atoms. No threshold energy has been found. With increasing oxygen partial pressure the flux of sputtered metastable atoms increased by an order of magnitude; however, the shape of the energy distribution remained unchanged.