The role of excitons and substrate temperature in low-energy (5–50 eV) electron-stimulated dissociation of amorphous D2O ice

We have studied the interaction of low-energy (5–50 eV) electrons with nanoscale (10 ML) ice films by probing the yields and quantum-state distributions of the neutral dissociation products using laser resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization spectroscopy. In particular, we have observed the electron-stimulated desorption (ESD) of D (²S), O (³P₂) and O (¹D₂) from amorphous D₂O films. These products are observed at threshold energies (relative to the vacuum level) between 6.5–7 eV and desorb with low kinetic energies (60–85 meV) which are independent of the incident electron energy. We associate the ESD of atomic fragments from ice with dissociation of Frenkel-type excitons of 4a₁ character which are near the bottom of the ice conduction band. These excitons are created either directly or via electron-ion recombination. Changing the surface temperature from 88 to 145 K results in an increase in the thermal component of the time-of-flight (kinetic energy) distributions and an overall increase in the neutral fragment yield. We suggest that the change in neutral yield with substrate temperature results from a combination of: (1) increased electron-ion recombination; (2) exciton transport to the near-surface region; and (3) dissociation followed by inelastic scattering and desorption.