Ion beam induced chemistry:: the case of ozone synthesis and its influence on the sputtering of solid oxygen

To understand chemical effects caused by ion beams in solids we study the simplest case, the formation of ozone in solid oxygen. We irradiate thin O-2 films with 100 keV protons and study the fluence dependence of the sputtering of solid O-2 with a microbalance and a mass spectrometer. The formation of ozone in the film after irradiation is identified by optical reflectance spectroscopy and thermal desorption. We discuss the processes involved and the implications of the fluence dependence of the ozone concentration upon the sputtering yield of oxygen. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.