A COMPARISON OF ION EMISSION FROM NANO3 PRODUCED BY KEV ENERGY ATOMICAND POLYATOMIC PRIMARY IONS

Sodium nitrate was bombarded with Cs+, (CsI)Cs+ and (CsI)(2)Cs+ projec tiles in the energy range 10 to 20 keV. Measurements of relative secon dary ion yields demonstrate that Cs+ produces a greater abundance of O - and OH- from the surface; the yields of complex secondary ions are h igher using the polyatomic projectiles. The yield ratio of NO3- to NO2 -, indicative of chemical damage induced by the projectile impact, is not sensitive to the kinetic energy of the projectile in the energy ra nge examined, but is instead a function of the number of atoms in the projectile. For surface analysis, this study shows that the most effec tive polyatomic projectile is one composed of a few constituents. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.