Survival probability of slow ions colliding with room-temperature and heated surfaces of beryllium

Abstract

Survival probabilities of slow ions colliding with room-temperature and heated (600°C) surfaces of beryllium have been determined. Earlier data on the survival probabilities of ions interacting with surfaces of carbon and tungsten are complemented by measurements of the survival probability of selected C1, C2, and C3 hydrocarbon ions and some non-hydrocarbon ions (, ) on the surfaces of beryllium. For the incident angle of 30° (with respect to the surface) and incident energy of 31 eV, the absolute survival probability (S a) and the ionization energy of the ion in question (IE) can be correlated with the use of the emprirical relation log S a = (2.9 ± 0.6)–(0.31 ± 0.06)IE for both room-temperature (hydrocarbon-covered) and heated (600°C) surfaces. The similar dependence for both non-heated and heated surfaces may presumably be due to a similar work function of the heated samples, containing substantial amounts of beryllium oxide and carbides on the surface, and of hydrocarbon-covered non-heated beryllium surfaces.