Depth profiling analysis of damaged arginine films with Ar cluster ion beams

Ar cluster ion beams provide unique opportunities for organic material analysis. SIMS with Ar cluster ion beams have been utilized for thin films of biomaterials and organic semiconductor multilayers. No degradation in SIMS spectra was found after sputtering with Ar cluster ion beams. In addition, a damage layer formed with ion irradiation of monomer Ga at a dose of 1?X?1014?ions/cm2 was removed with an Ar cluster beam without additional damage being created. The structure and depth of damage induced with monomer ions can be evaluated with Ar cluster SIMS. The measured thickness of the damaged layer is very close to the value calculated with TRIM. These results indicate that damage in organic materials introduced with energetic ions can be evaluated with this technique. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.