Sorption of Gases in the Ion Bombardment of Glass Surfaces

Abstract

The development of very high vacuum techniques and solid-state physics demands a more careful investigation into the nature and mechanism of the interaction of positive gas ions with glass surfaces. In one of the very earliest investigations of Campbell [1] relating to the association between the “blue discharge” and the evacuation of various gases, it was asserted that chemically-active gases such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen were sorbed more rapidly than inert gases (such as argon). Since the mechanism of the sorption of argon was incapable of being explained by chemical reactions or dissociation, Campbell suggested that absorption in the discharge depended on the nature of the gas and the purity of the glass walls of the tube rather than constituting a purely chemical phenomenon.