Sputtering Yields for Single Crystal Samples of PbX (X = S, Se, Te) with Different Crystallographic Orientations

A study was carried out on sputtering yields for PbX (X = S, Se, Te) single crystals with (100) orientation and PbTe and PbSe single-crystal films with (111) orientation under ion-plasma bombardment with argon ions. The PbX single crystals were grown by the vertical zone melting method and oriented along the [100] growth axis. Single-crystal films of lead chalcogenides 2–4 μm thick with an orientation (111) relative to the normal to the substrate were formed by molecular beam epitaxy on silicon substrates. The surface treatment was carried out in a high-density argon plasma reactor of a high-frequency inductive discharge (13.56 MHz) of low pressure at an average ion energy of 50, 100, 150, and 200 eV. Based on the comparative analysis of sputtering rates, it was shown that for the (100) orientation, the sputtering yields for lead telluride were lower compared to lead sulfide and lead selenide. The sputtering yields for PbTe and PbSe for the (111) crystallographic orientation was found to be higher compared to (100) orientation.