Sputtering of thin benzene and polystyrene overlayers by keV Ga and C60 bombardment

The mechanisms of ion-stimulated desorption of thin organic overlayers deposited on metal substrates by mono- and polyatomic projectiles are examined using molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations. A monolayer of polystyrene tetramers (PS4) physisorbed on Ag{1 1 1} is irradiated by 15 keV Ga and C60 projectiles at normal incidence. The results are compared with the data obtained for a benzene overlayer to investigate the differences in sputtering mechanisms of weakly and strongly bound organic molecules. The results indicate that the sputtering yield decreases with the increase of the binding energy and the average kinetic energy of parent molecules is shifted toward higher kinetic energy. Although the total sputtering yield of organic material is larger for 15 keV C60, the impact of this projectile leads to a significant fragmentation of ejected species. As a result, the yield of the intact molecules is comparable for C60 and Ga projectiles. Our data indicate that chemical analysis of the very thin organic films performed by detection of sputtered neutrals will not benefit from the use of C60 projectiles.