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P. Szabo:
"Sputtering of Mercury and Moon Analogue Material by Solar Wind Ions";
Vortrag: Seminar Institut für Allgemeine Physik (IAP), TU Wien; 23.10.2018.

The formation of thin exospheres around planets or moons is a very important topic in planetary sciences.
Sputtering by solar wind ions plays an essential role for the emission of particles from the surface. To get a
better understanding of this process, sputtering experiments with the Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM)
technique were performed using the mineral Wollastonite (CaSiO3) as an analogue target for the surface of
Moon or Mercury. Kinetic sputtering effects were investigated under different angles of incidence and
agreed very well with predictions from simulation codes. Potential sputtering by ions with higher charge
states was found to significantly increase the sputtering yield, showing the importance of heavy, multiply
charged ions in the solar wind.