Energy-dependent deposition processes of size-selected Ag nanoclusters on highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite

Singly charged cations of silver atoms and clusters (Ag(n)(+), n=1,3,5,7,9) were deposited on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite substrates at well-controlled, various collision energies. The total amount of Ag atoms remaining on the substrates after collision was quantified by measuring the Ag 3d(5/2) photoelectron intensities. The collision energy dependence of the amount of deposited Ag atoms revealed that, for all the species, there are three distinct energy regions, for which soft landing, rebounding, or implantation is a dominant process, and that the energy ranges for the processes strongly depend on the cluster size. The deposition efficiency vs collision energy curve for each cluster is well fitted to that for Ag(1), by considering the difference between the contact area of Ag(1) with the surface and that of the cluster, reflecting the compactness of the clusters. Boundaries between the different deposition regimes for the clusters were less distinct than those for Ag(1). Considering anisotropy in shape of a cluster, deposition efficiency around the implantation threshold was calculated, which well explains the indistinctness of the threshold observed in the experimental data. This supports the picture that the energy given to a unit surface area determines the collision process. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)70722-7].