Electronic sputtering of solids by slow, highly charged ions: Fundamentals and applications

Electronic sputtering in the interaction of slow (v < V-Bohr), highly charged ions (SHCI) with solid surfaces has been subject of controversial discussions for almost 20 years. We review results from recent studies of total sputtering yields and discuss distinct microscopic mechanisms (such as defect mediated desorption, Coulomb explosions and effects of intense electronic excitation) in the response of insulators and semiconductors to the impact of SHCI. We then describe an application of ions like Xe44+ and AU(69+) as projectiles in time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry for surface characterization of semiconductors. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.