Characterization of secondary ion emission processes of sub-MeV C60 ion impacts via analysis of statistical distributions of the emitted ion number

Abstract

We report probability distributions of the number of secondary ions (SIs) emitted by sub-MeV C60 ion impacts on an organic polymer target and the characterization of their emission processes through the analysis of the distributions. The probability distributions were obtained by analyzing experimental SI counting data obtained by a time-of-flight SI mass spectrometer combined with pulsed primary ion beams, using an analytical model developed to derive the distributions from the experimental data. A series of probability distribution functions was investigated for ion impacts of C60 with sub-MeV energies (0.12-0.54 MeV), which can provide sufficient SIs per impact to determine the functions. Their complicated and undefined SI emission processes were characterized based on the determined functions.