Temporal evolution of a silicon surface subject to low energy ion irradiation and concurrent sample rotation

•We report on the temporal evolution of SI surfaces subject to low energy Ar+-ion bombardment and concurrent sample rotation.•An experiment which produces an anisotropic surface without sample rotation produces a statistically isotropic surface with a smaller surface roughness if the sample is rotated at a sufficiently high angular speed.•Interrupted coarsening of the nanoscale mounds on the surface at long times is observed without concurrent deposition of metal impurities for the first time.•Both our experiments and simulations show that azimuthally rotating ripples form at a sufficiently small rotational speeds, as predicted two decades ago.•Our predictions from theories on rotating samples subject to ion bombardment are tested.