Measurement of low energy sputtering of high temperature liquid tin for divertor applications

Temperature-enhanced sputtering of liquid Sn under low energy light and heavy ion bombardment measured using dual quartz-crystal microbalances is reported. This is in support of the potential use of a flowing liquid Sn surface as a plasma-facing component in advanced fusion machines as both a divertor surface and a first-wall material. Previously, significant temperature enhancement under heavy ion bombardment was not reported; this study, extending results to higher temperatures show and order of magnitude enhancement of the absolute sputtering yield beyond mere thermal evaporation which is separately measured.