Secondary ion emission from Si under nitrogen ion bombardment

The yield and energy distribution of positive secondary ions emitted from Si under N₂⁺ ion bombardment were measured. The obtained mass peaks correspond to three types of secondary ion species, that is, physically sputtered ions (Si⁺, Si₂⁺), chemically sputtered ions (SiN⁺ Si₂N⁺) and doubly charged ions (Si²⁺). The dependence of secondary ion emission on the primary ion energy was studied in a range of 2.0–20.0 keV. The yields of physically and chemically sputtered ions were almost independent of the primary ion energy. The yield of the doubly charged ion strongly depended on the primary ion energy. The energy distribution of secondary ions of the three types showed the same dependence on the primary ion energy. The most probable energy of the distribution increased with the primary ion energy. On the other hand, for the energy distribution curves of sputtered ions, the tail factors N in E^?N were constant and showed a m/e dependence.