Temperature effects on ion-desorption dynamics from solid Ne by low-energy ion impacts

Interactions between low-energy ions and solid rare gases have been investigated by observing desorbed ions. When low-energy ions were injected into solid Ne, we found that the kinetic energy of desorbed cluster ions significantly increased with irradiation time for a film thickness of several hundred monolayers. This result can be explained by charge-up (i.e., electronic holes) in the solid Ne. The kinetic energy of the desorbed ions is considered to be proportional to the number of holes created in the solid by the ion impacts. The solid’s temperature effects on the desorbed-ion kinetic energy can be understood as a dependence on the diffusion rate of the holes. The temperature was controlled between 4.7 and 7.0 K. The activation energy of hole-hopping transport is estimated at 0.7 meV based on the slope of Arrhenius plots.