Simple experiment on the sputtering rate of solids in gas discharges

We present a very simple and sensitive method to measure the sputtering rate of solid materials in stationary low-pressure gas discharges. The method is based on the balance of the centrifugal force and the confinement electric force acting on a single electrically charged dust particle in a rotating environment. We demonstrate the use and sensitivity of this method in a capacitively coupled radio frequency argon discharge. We were able to detect a reduction of 10 nm in the diameter of a single dust particle.