Abstract

Energetic ion impact on a solid initiates a complex dynamical chain of events which include atomic motion, electronic excitation, ionization, and desorption of atomic and molecular species. Measurements on the desorbed particles during the ion-solid interaction process provide a valuable opportunity to understand the ion-solid interactions.[1-2] For more than three decade, research has been focused on understanding the formation of electronic excited states subsequent to ion bombardment in order to establish the role of inelastic energy transfer on ionization and sputtering yield[2]. The widely accepted conclusion is that the rate of relaxation is determined by the energy gap between the excited and ground state, i.e., the larger the magnitude of the excitation energy the more rapid relaxation of the electronic excitation.

© 1996 Optical Society of America