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Sputtering of atoms in fine structure states: a probe of excitation and de‐excitation events
Author(s) -
Garrison Barbara J.,
Winograd Nicholas,
Chatterjee Reema,
Postawa Zbigniew,
Wucher Andreas,
Vandeweert Erno,
Lievens Peter,
Philipsen Vicky,
Silverans Roger E.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0231(19980930)12:18<1266::aid-rcm323>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - metastability , chemistry , excitation , excited state , atomic physics , kinetic energy , atom (system on chip) , ion , sputtering , electronic structure , metal , molecular physics , nanotechnology , computational chemistry , physics , thin film , quantum mechanics , computer science , embedded system , materials science , organic chemistry
Abstract The electronic mechanisms leading to the formation of excited atoms from ion‐bombarded metal surfaces have been examined in light of recent experimental observations. Specifically, populations and kinetic energy distributions are compared for metastable fine structure states of In, Rh, Ni, Co and Ag. The comparison shows that the populations of these depend strongly on the electronic configuration of the departing atom and its correspondence with the metallic band structure. Current hypotheses about fundamental processes are discussed. Missing parts of our understanding of these processes are enumerated, and a number of new experiments aimed toward filling in these gaps are proposed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.