  The sputtering of hexagonal boron nitride due to low energy xenon ion
bombardments occurs in various applications including fabrication of cubic
boron nitride and erosion of Hall thruster channel walls. At low ion energies,
accurate experimental characterization of sputter yields increases in
difficulty due to the low yields involved. A molecular dynamics model is
employed to simulate the sputtering process and to calculate sputter yields for
ion energies ranging from 10 eV to 350 eV. The results are compared to
experimental data and a semi-empirical expression developed by Bohdansky is
found to adequately describe the simulation data. Surface temperature effects
are also investigated, and the sputter yield at 850 K is approximately twice
that at 423 K.
