On the bond breaking model of polyatomic ion emission in secondary ion mass spectrometry

The cluster size distribution (number of clusters versus number of atoms in the cluster) resulting from a simple nearest neighbor Bond Breaking Model (BBM) of Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) is studied for one- and two-dimensional and Bethe lattices. In one dimension, the distribution is monotonic. In two dimensions, however, irregularities can occur as a function of the probability β of breaking any given bond. These irregularities differentiate between square, honeycomb, and triangular lattices and are most pronounced if the overall probability of breaking any bond in the lattice is small.