Yields and ionization probabilities of sputtered Inn particles under atomic and polyatomic Aum ion bombardment

The emission of neutral and charged atoms and clusters from a polycrystalline indium surface under bombardment with 5 and 10 keV Au, Au₂, Au₃ and Au₅ projectiles was investigated. Single photon laser postionization was utilized for the detection of sputtered neutral particles. Secondary ions were detected without the laser under otherwise exactly the same experimental conditions. The relative cluster yields were found to be enhanced under polyatomic projectile bombardment, more so the larger the number of atoms in the sputtered cluster. The ionization probability strongly increases with increasing cluster size, but is essentially independent of the projectile impact energy. At a fixed impact energy, the ionization probability of sputtered monomers was found to decrease with increasing number of constituent gold atoms per projectile, but there was no detectable effect for sputtered dimers and larger clusters.     

Energy dependence of the ionization probability of sputtered Cu and Ni

Despite its great sensitivity, the usefulness of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) for many applications has been limited by an inadequate understanding of the probability of sputtering an atom in an ionized state. To determine this ionization probability for clean Cu and Ni surfaces, I have measured the energy distribution of sputtered neutrals and ions by quadrupole mass filtering and retarding potential analysis using potential modulation differentiation. Analysis of sputtered neutrals was accomplished by electron impact ionization. Because the neutrals outnumber the ions by at least two orders of magnitude, the ratio of sputtered ions to neutrals is an accurate measure of the ionization probability. For energies below 20 eV the dependence of the ionization probability on energy goes as P(E) α Eⁿ, where n = 0.65 for clean Cu. The absorption of oxygen on the Cu surface increases the total ion yield while causing a reduction in the value of the exponent n. Similar results are found for nickel, where n = 0.54 for the clean surface.     

Electron stimulated desorption of cesium atoms from germanium-covered tungsten

The electron stimulated desorption (ESD) yield and energy distributions for Cs atoms from cesium layers adsorbed on germanium-covered tungsten have been measured for different Ge film thicknesses, 0.25-4.75 ML (monolayer), as a function of electron energy and cesium coverage Θ. The measurements have been carried out using a time-of-flight method and surface ionization detector. In the majority of measurements Cs is adsorbed at 300 K. The appearance threshold for Cs atoms is about 30 eV, which correlates well with the Ge 3d ionization energy. As the electron energy increases the Cs atom ESD yield passes through a wide maximum at an electron energy of about 120 eV. In the Ge film thickness range from 0.5 to 2 ML, resonant Cs atom yield peaks are observed at electron energies of 50 and 80 eV that can be associated with W 5p and W 5s level excitations. As the cesium coverage increases the Cs atom yield passes through a smooth maximum at 1 ML coverage. The Cs atom ESD energy distributions are bell-shaped; they shift toward higher energies with increasing cesium coverage for thin germanium films and shift toward lower energies with increasing cesium coverage for thick germanium films. The energy distributions for ESD of Cs from a 1 ML Ge film exhibit a strong temperature dependence; at T = 160 K they consist of two bell-shaped curves: a narrow peak with a maximum at a kinetic energy of 0.35 eV and a wider peak with a maximum at a kinetic energy of 0.5 eV. The former is associated with W level excitations and the latter with a Ge 3d level excitation. These results can be interpreted in terms of the Auger stimulated desorption model.     

The peculiarities of the low-energy ion scattering by polycrystal targets

In the present work, experimental and computer simulation studies of low-energy (E₀ = 80-500 eV) Cs⁺ ions scattering on Ta, W, Re target surfaces and K⁺ ions scattering on Ti, V, Cr target surfaces have been performed for more accurate definition of mechanism of scattering, with a purpose of evaluation of an opportunity of use of slow ions scattering as a tool of surface layers analysis. The choice of the targets was based on the fact that the ratios of atomic masses of target atoms and ions μ = m₂/m₁ were almost the same for all cases considered and greater than 1 (direct mass ratio) however, the difference of binding energies of target atoms in the cases of Cs⁺ and K⁺ scattering was almost twice as much. It has been noticed that the dependencies of the relative energy retained by scattering ions at the maximum of energy distribution versus the initial energy E_m/E₀ (E₀) have a similar shape in all cases. The relative energy retained by scattering ions increases while the initial energy of incidence ions decreases. The curves are placed above each other relative to the binding energies of target atoms, to show what this says about the influence of binding energy on a process of scattering of low-energy ions. The correlation between value of energy change maintained by an ion for different values of E₀ in the case of scattering by targets with different masses of atoms and its binding energies is experimentally established. The contrary behavior of the E_m/E₀ (E₀) dependencies concerning the target atom binding energy quantity E_b for cases with direct (μ > 1) and inverse (μ < 1) mass ratio of colliding particles is established. The comparison of experimental energy distributions with calculated histograms shows that the binary collision approximation cannot elucidate the abnormally great shift in the maxima of relative energy distributions towards greater energy retained by scattering ions.     

The theoretical and experimental study of the ionization processes during the low energy ion sputtering

The process by which atoms are ionized as they are sputtered from a metal surface has been analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. In the theoretical part the expressions for ionization coefficient R⁺ of atoms having the ionization energy much larger than the metal work function have been derived using a molecular orbital method. The effect of the level crossing was estimated in an approximate way. In the experimental part the SIMS experiments on clean Ni and Al surfaces and on Ni surface covered with a submonolayer of adsorbed K, Na and Al are reported. It has been found and it is for the first time reported that the energy distribution of ions sputtered from a submonolayer of adatoms is independent of energy (200–2500 eV) and mass (Ar⁺ Xe⁺ of incident ions and depends only upon the adsorption energy of the adatom. The energy distribution of ions sputtered from bulk samples has been found dependent on the primary ion energy. The measurement of the absolute value of R⁺ has shown that there is a strong correlation between the number of the adatom valence d-electrons and the value of R⁺, the value of R⁺ being smaller for atoms with more d-electrons. These experimental data have been compared with the theoretical expressions and the important role of the mechanism which takes into account the bending of the adatom energy level has been assessed.     

Ionization probability of sputtered particles as a function of their energy: Part II. Positive Si ions

In this paper we represent the experimental ionization probability of sputtered silicon atoms as a function of their energy, which has been obtained for positive Si⁺ ions sputtered from silicon by O₂⁺ ion beam. To explain the experimental data, we have considered ionization of an outgoing atom at a critical distance from the surface, which occurs due to the electron transition between this atom and the surface, and suggested the formation of a local surface charge with the polarity opposite to that of the outgoing ion that has just been formed. Then we have considered the interaction between those two charges, outgoing ion, and surface charge as a process of the particle passage through a spherical potential barrier; as a result, we have obtained the theoretical energy distribution of secondary ions. Together with the well-known Sigmund-Thompson energy distribution of sputtered atoms, the obtained ion energy distribution allowed us to derive the equation for the secondary ion yield versus the sputtered particle energy. Both equations derived have exhibited a quite good correlation with our experimental results and also with a large number of published experimental data.     

Low-energy ion scattering by monatomic films

The angular and energy distributions of Cs⁺ and Xe⁺ ions scattered by monatomic crystalline films have been calculated via the molecular dynamics method in the scope of the multiparticle interaction mechanism. The calculated dependences of scattered heavy ions with a low initial energy E ₀ = 40 eV on the atomic mass, crystal lattice type, interatomic distance, and binding energy of the film atoms are discussed and compared with the experiment. The presented data can be used to predict the physical properties of a surface covered with a monatomic layer of foreign atoms during experimental surface studies based on the backscattering of ions with low initial energies.     

Energieverteilungen bei der Festkörperzerstäubung durch Ionenbeschuß

The energy distributions of the neutral particles sputtered from polycrystalline targets of Al, Ti, Ni, Cu and Ag by normally incident Ar⁺-ions in the 1 keV region have been determined for ejection energies below 20 eV in a direction close to the normal to the target surface. The experimental method employed is strongly connected to the characteristic properties of a low pressure electrodeless hf plasma used as an effective ion source as well as an ionizing medium for the ejected target atoms. The resulting curves always show a maximum at most probable ejection energies between 1 and 5 eV, being approximately half of the surface binding energy. These curves are converted to the corresponding energy distributions for the recoil atoms within the target by an energy dependent factor. It is found that the energy distribution within the bombarded solid decreases monotonically with the inverse square of the energy of the recoils.     

Electron impact ionization cross sections of the CO2 clusters

The modified Jain–Khare semi-empirical formalism for the evaluation of differential and integral electron impact ionization cross sections for molecules has been extended to the evaluation of cross sections for the electron ionization of CO₂ clusters: (CO₂)₂₄₀ and (CO₂)₁₇₀₀. The energy dependent differential cross sections are evaluated at the incident electron energies of 50, 100 and 200 eV. The integral total ionization cross sections have been calculated in the energy range varying from ionization thresholds to 1000 eV which revealed a good agreement with the available experimental and the theoretical data. The ionization rate coefficients have also been evaluated using the presently calculated ionization cross sections and Maxwell–Boltzmann energy distributions.     

Angular-resolved energy distribution of secondary ions emitted from a silicon target sputtered by a xenon ion beam

This paper reports preliminary results obtained on an experimental apparatus dedicated to the study of angular resolved energy distribution of particles emitted from a sputtered target. Secondary ions emitted during the bombardment of a silicon target by xenon ions at a primary energy of 10keV have been studied. In its low energy part the distribution reaches a maximum around 8eV, and then decreases according to an E ^–1 law. In the range 200eV to 1000eV, a second maximum appears whose height depends on the emission angle. Apart from this range, the angular distributions have a cosine square-like shape. On the contrary, the angular distribution of ions with energy between 200eV and 1000eV is pointed in a forward direction near the specular reflection direction of the ion beam. It is assumed that the measured ions correspond to two ionic populations: secondary ions sputtered according to the linear cascade theory and recoil silicon target ions.     

Ablation process of silica glass induced by laser plasma soft X-ray irradiation

Silica glass can be machined by irradiation with laser plasma soft X-rays on nano- and micrometer scale. We have investigated the ablation process of silica glass induced by laser plasma soft X-ray irradiation. We observed ionic and neutral species emitted from silica surfaces after irradiation. Dominant ions and neutrals are O⁺ and Si⁺ ions and Si, O, SiO and Si₂ neutrals, respectively. The ions have kinetic energies of 13 and 25 eV, which are much higher than those of particles emitted by evaporation. The energy of laser plasma soft X-rays absorbed to silica glass at a fluence of 1.4 J/cm² is estimated to be 380 kJ/cm³, which is higher than the binding energy of SiO₂ of 76 kJ/cm³. These results suggest that the most of the bonds in silica glass are broken by absorption of laser plasma soft X-rays, that several percent of the atoms are ionized, and that neutral atoms are emitted together with repulsive ions. The process possibly enables us to fabricate nano structures.     

Hyperthermal scattering of Cs from Pt(1 1 1): the effect of image charge on the ion-surface energy transfer

We have studied the energy exchange between hyperthermal (5-100 eV) Cs⁺ projectiles and a Pt(1 1 1) surface by measuring the kinetic energy of the scattered ions. The scattering geometry was chosen to be in-plane with specular scattering angles, and the energy of the scattered ions was analyzed as functions of incidence energy and angle. For low incidence energy (<40 eV), the energy transfer to the Pt surface is substantially enhanced due to the attractive image charge force between Cs⁺ and the surface. The image charge effects are highlighted by the different energy transfer on Pt(1 1 1) and Si(1 1 1) surfaces. Analysis of the experimental results using two- and three-dimensional theoretical models revealed a well depth of 1 eV for the image charge potential. Hyperthermal Cs⁺ ions scatter from Pt(1 1 1) predominantly via double collisions with Pt atoms, though the scattering phenomena are insensitive to the impact site at the surface.     

Measurement and modeling of work function changes during low energy cesium sputtering

In this paper, a H-terminated silicon wafer was bombarded by low energy cesium ions during ToF-SIMS analysis and work function variations of the target were measured for different analysis conditions. This measurement was performed by measuring the shift of the secondary ions energy distributions with a reflectron type analyzer. At first, the silicon’s work function change was found to be −2.3 eV during 500 eV Cs⁺ bombardment at 45°. This effect is due to the creation of a dipolar layer at the surface of the silicon by the implanted cesium. Then the work function variation was measured at 300 eV for varying cesium surface concentrations. The work function was found to decrease monotonously with the increasing cesium surface concentration, as during cesium adsorption experiments. The results were modeled following three different approaches and the value of the effective polarizability α of cesium was found to be equal to 1.9 × 10⁻³⁹ C m²/V. Finally, the effect of the bombardment energy on the work function variation was studied for beams with energies ranging from 250 to 2000 eV. The effective polarizability of cesium was found to increase with increasing Cs beam energy.     

Electron-stimulated desorption of lithium atoms from oxidized molybdenum surface

The yield and energy distributions of lithium atoms upon electron-stimulated desorption from lithium layers adsorbed on the molybdenum surface coated with an oxygen monolayer have been measured as functions of the impact electron energy and lithium coverage. The measurements are performed using the time-of-flight technique and a surface ionization detector. The threshold of the electron-stimulated desorption of lithium atoms is equal to 25 eV, which is close to the ionization energy of the O 2s level. Above a threshold of 25 eV, the yield of lithium atoms linearly increases with an increase in the lithium coverage. In the coverage range from 0 to 0.45, an additional threshold is observed at an energy of 55 eV. This threshold can be associated with the ionization energy of the Li 1s level. At the electron energies above a threshold of 55 eV, as the coverage increases, the yield of lithium atoms passes through a maximum at a coverage of about 0.1. Additional thresholds for the electron-stimulated desorption of the lithium atoms are observed at electron energies of 40 and 70 eV for the coverages larger than 0.6 and 0.75, respectively. These thresholds correlate with the ionization energies of the Mo 4s and Mo 4p levels. Relatively broad peaks in the range of these thresholds indicate the resonance excitation of the bond and can be explained by the excitation of electrons toward the band of free states above the Fermi level. The mean kinetic energy of the lithium atoms is equal to several tenths of an electronvolt. At electron energies less than 55 eV, the energy distributions of lithium atoms involve one peak with a maximum at about 0.18 eV. For the lithium coverages less than 0.45 and electron energies higher than 55 eV, the second peak with a maximum at 0.25 eV appears in the energy distributions of the lithium atoms. The results obtained can be interpreted in the framework of the Auger-stimulated desorption model, in which the adsorbed lithium ions are neutralized after filling holes inside inner shells of the substrate and lithium atoms.     

Cluster emission under ion bombardment of metallic targets

Mass spectroscopic studies of the neutral particles sputtered by Ar⁺ ions at 8 keV from polycrystaline samples have been performed, using non-resonant laser ionization and subsequent time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. Besides sputtered atoms, also dimer and trimer contributions in the order of 10^–1 to 10^–2 and 10^–3 to 10^–4, respectively, are found in the sputtered flux. The data obtained here together with previously published data by other groups for different bombarding energies provide strong support for the validity of the recombination model.     

Three-dimensional spatiokinetic distributions of sputtered andscattered products of Ar+ and Cu+ impacts onto theCu surface: molecular dynamics simulations

Energy and angular distributions of reflections and sputtered atoms are essential inputs for feature profile evolution simulations. Molecular dynamics simulations are used to compute the three-dimensional energy and angular distributions for reflected and sputtered products when both Ar⁺ and Cu⁺ ions bombard a copper surface. We term these “spatiokinetic” distribution functions (SKDF's). We show by example that SKDF's for reflected Ar⁺ ions focus as the incident angle &thetas;_i (normal=0°) is increased from 60-75° and broaden as the incident energy E_i is increased from 55-175 eV. We show that the SKDF's for glancing-angle reflected Cu⁺ ions focus when E_i is increased from 55-175 eV. We show that the SKDF's for copper atoms sputtered by 175 eV Ar⁺ are insensitive to &thetas;_i;. We report total sputter yields for Ar⁺ and Cu⁺ ions at 55 and 175 eV for incident angles between 0° and 85°, and sticking probabilities for Cu⁺ ions for these energies and angles. Comparison to representative experimental results (Doughty et al., 1997) is given     

Photoelectron spectra of F3SiC2H4Si(CH3)3 molecule using monochromatized synchrotron radiation

A variety of photoelectron spectra for gas phase F₃SiC₂H₄Si(CH₃)₃ molecule have been measured using monochromatized undulator radiation and a hemispherical electrostatic analyzer. Valence photoelectron spectrum shows many peaks for ionization from shallow and deep molecular orbitals in the binding energy region of 9–40 eV. A calculation of ionization energies using the outer valence Green's function method indicates energies in agreement with experimental results below 17.5 eV. Spectra for Si L-shell electron emission show chemical shifts of Si atoms induced from different chemical environments around two Si atoms and also exhibit spin–orbit splitting for 2p photoelectrons. Further photoelectron spectra for C K-shell and F K-shell are discussed in comparison with those of related molecules.     

Formation of GaAs1−xNx nanofilm on GaAs by low energy N2 implantation

Nitridation of GaAs (1 0 0) by N₂⁺ ions with energy E_i = 2500 eV has been studied by Auger- and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy under experimental conditions, when electrons ejected only by nitrated layer, without contribution of GaAs substrate, were collected. Diagnostics for quantitative chemical analysis of the nitrated layers has been developed using the values of NKVV Auger energies in GaN and GaAsN chemical phases measured in one experiment, with the accuracy being sufficient for separating their contributions into the experimental spectrum. The conducted analysis has shown that nanofilm with the thickness of about 4 nm was fabricated, consisting mainly of dilute alloy GaAs_1−xN_x with high concentration of nitrogen x ∼ 0.09, although the major part of the implanted nitrogen atoms are contained in GaN inclusions. It was assumed that secondary ion cascades generated by implanted ions play an important role in forming nitrogen-rich alloy.     

Optical emission spectroscopy by Ar ion sputtering of Ti surface under O2 environment

Visible light emission from atoms and ions sputtered on a polycrystalline Ti surface was observed under irradiation of 30 keV Ar³⁺ ions. A number of atomic lines of Ti I and II were observed in the wavelength of 250-850 nm. The intensity of Ti II emission increased 1.3-5.6 times by introducing oxygen molecules at a pressure of 5.8 × 10⁻⁵ Pa, whereas that of Ti I decreased 0.5-0.8 times. Factors enhancing or reducing photon intensities were plotted as a function of energy of the corresponding electrons in the excited states for Ti atoms and Ti⁺ ions.     

Electron energy loss spectra from polycrystalline Cr and Cr2O3 before and after surface reduction by Ar bombardment

Electron energy loss spectra (ELS) have been obtained from polycrystalline Cr and Cr₂O₃ before and after surface reduction by 2 keV Ar⁺ bombardment. The primary electron energy used in the ELS measurements was systematically varied from 100 to 1150 eV in order to distinguish surface versus bulk loss processes. Two predominant loss features in the ELS spectra obtained from Cr metal at 9.0 and 23.0 eV are assigned to the surface and bulk plasmon excitations, respectively, and a number of other features arising from single electron transitions from both the bulk and surface Cr 3d bands to higher-lying states in the conduction band are also present. The ELS spectra obtained from Cr₂O₃ exhibit features that originate from both interband transitions and charge-transfer transitions between the Cr and O ions as well as the bulk plasmon at 24.4 eV. The ELS feature at 4.0 eV arises from a charge-transfer transition between the oxygen and chromium ions in the two surface layers beneath the chemisorbed oxygen layer, and the ELS feature at 9.8 eV arises from a similar transition involving the chemisorbed oxygen atoms. The intensity of the ELS peak at 9.8 eV decreases after Ar⁺ sputtering due to the removal of chemisorbed oxygen atoms. Sputtering also increases the number of Cr²⁺ states on the surface, which in turn increases the intensity of the 4.0 eV feature. Furthermore, the ELS spectra obtained from the sputtered Cr₂O₃ surface exhibit features characteristic of both Cr⁰ and Cr₂O₃, indicating that Ar⁺ sputtering reduces Cr₂O₃. The fact that neither the surface- nor the bulk-plasmon features of Cr⁰ can be observed in the ELS spectra obtained from sputtered Cr₂O₃ while the loss features due to Cr⁰ interband transitions are clearly present indicates that Cr⁰ atoms form small clusters lacking a bulk metallic nature during Ar⁺ bombardment of Cr₂O₃.