argon sputtering

Argon sputtering is a process used in material science and electronics to clean or modify surfaces. It involves bombarding a material's surface with energized argon gas atoms. These atoms are accelerated toward the surface in a vacuum, and when they hit, they knock off or "sputter" away atoms from the material. This technique helps clean surfaces, remove contaminants, or thin materials with precision. Since argon is an inert gas, it doesn't chemically react with the material, making sputtering an effective way to prepare surfaces for analysis or device fabrication.