Desorption of silver atoms from benzene-covered Ag(111) by energetic Ar+ bombardment

Experiments have been conducted to gain insight into the processes of desor ption of neutral species from surfaces covered with organic molecules due t o bombardment with keV particles. The system is comprised of benzene molecu les adsorbed onto Ag(1 1 1) and bombarded with 8 keV Ar+ ions. Molecular dy namics (MD) simulations of the same system have been performed. Results sho w that the presence of the benzene alters the yield, the kinetic energy dis tributions, and the angular distributions of the silver atoms. These change s of the desorption characteristics are the result of collisions between th e Ag atoms and the benzene molecules adsorbed to the surface. As more benze ne is adsorbed to the surfacer the changes to the AE atom desorption charac teristics become more pronounced. The simulations reproduce the modificatio ns to the Ag atom energy and angle distributions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.