We present a study of the energy distributions of positive ions (Na+, Li+,
Ca+, and Mg+) photodesorbed from cleaved NaCl, LiF, MgO, NaNO3, and CaCO3 s
urfaces during 248 nm excimer laser irradiation at fluences well below the
damage thresholds. The observed ion energies are significantly higher than
those predicted by already existing models that allow ion rearrangement and
relaxation during the electrostatic ion repulsion by the nearby photoioniz
ed sites. In contrast to what one would expect, we find that treating the i
ons as fixed charges and neglecting any ion rearrangement during the emissi
on of the adions describes best the experimentally observed ion energies fr
om all five ionic crystals. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-
6951(00)00604-5].