State-selective energy and angular resolved detection of neutral species ejected from keV ion bombarded C₆H₆/Ag{1 1 1}

We investigated the desorption of neutral benzene (C₆H₆) molecules and silver atoms from C₆H₆/Ag{1 1 1} upon bombardment by 8 keV Ar⁺ ions. Using state-selective resonant ionization spectroscopy, substrate atoms sputtered in the ground and a high-lying metastable state, and ground-state and vibrationally excited molecules could be probed separately. The silver atom yield, kinetic energy and polar angle distributions were found to be modified upon benzene dosing. From these results, it was inferred that a large fraction of the metastable silver atoms de-excite during collisions with adsorbates. Also the ejection of benzene molecules depends strongly both on the internal energy of the molecules and the degree of coverage of the Ag surface. Up to monolayer thickness, the benzene molecules are mainly ejected during collisions with departing substrate particles. Molecules with higher internal energy leave the surface with a distribution shifted towards higher kinetic energies. At multi-layer coverages, a slow desorption mechanism becomes dominant. It is suggested that only benzene molecules vibrationally excited near the benzene-vacuum interface can survive the ejection process without de-excitation.