Chemically Induced Desorption of Nickel Oxide and Carbide by 5-200 eV C⁺ and O⁺ Ion Bombardment

Abstract

Adsorbate desorption induced by reactive ion bombardment can occur via several mechanisms including collisional momentum transfer, electronic excitation originating from charge transfer, or chemical reactions. When the ion kinetic energy (Eκ) is in the hyperthermal range (1–100 eV), which is comparable to chemical bond energies, the ion-surface interaction is greatly influenced by the chemical nature of the reactive projectile [1–3]. Therefore, by employing a suitable projectile-adsorbate combination, selective induction of ion-surface reactions and subsequent, product desorption can be achieved. For this reason, we have undertaken experimental studies of reactive ion-induced desorption by employing mass and Eκ selected single reactant species. These experiments probe the reactions of 5–200 eV C⁺ and O⁺ ion beams with nickel oxide (NiO) and nickel carbide (NiC) surfaces. These reactions are modeled using a Monte Carlo computer simulation to compare with the experimental results.