Desorption induced by hot electrons: wave packet calculation of CO on Cu surfaces

A quantum mechanical photodesorption model, valid for metallic substrates and sub-picosecond laser pulses, is presented. It takes into consideration the photodesorption coordinate and models the metal hot-electron mediated desorption by a three electronic states: an ionic state of the adsorbate and two effective states representing the continuum of the metal. This multiple-state picture allows the sharing of the flow of energy injected by the laser between the adsorbate and the substrate. For the first time, the present modeling introduces the hot electrons of the metal through an optical potential based on the kinetic model developed earlier by the authors. This potential, and the resulting desorption yield, depend on the laser fluence. For CO on Cu(1 0 0) or Cu(1 1 1), the results are in fair agreement with the experimental findings.