Crater formation in Langmuir-Blodgett films induced by electronic sputtering with fast heavy ions

• Secondary ion formation by fast heavy ion impact (electronic sputtering) on Langmuir–Blodgett films of fatty acids has been studied. The results show unambiguously that molecular ions originate from molecules in layers other than the surface layer. Furthermore, the results indicate that craters may be formed in electronic sputtering of such films. The depth of the craters depends on the stopping power of the incident ion and lower limits of the order of 100–200 Å are obtained from the ion data.

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