INTERACTION OF 300-5000-EV IONS WITH GAAS(110)

The interaction of 0.3-5 keV Ar+ and Xe+ ions with GaAs(110) in the in itial stages of sputtering was studied with scanning tunneling microsc opy. At normal incidence, these ions create pits typically of 1-5 unit cells and, on average, each ion leads to the removal of about 1.5 sur face atoms from the surface. The sputtering yield depends weakly on io n mass and energy. The bombardment events are mainly in the single kno ck-on regime, with some in the linear cascade regime. The mechanism of ion-surface impact is discussed. (C) 1994 American Institute of Physi cs.