Yields of sputtered metal clusters: the influence of surface structure

Abstract Sputtered neutral In n clusters generated by 4-keV Ar + ions impinging onto an indium surface were investigated by single photon ionization and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The distribution of the cluster sputtering yields as a function of the cluster size, n , was determined for various states of the sample surface. First, spectra taken on a solid and a liquid indium surface were compared to investigate the role of crystal structure. Second, the influence of surface microroughness was studied by comparing spectra taken on a freshly molten and re-solidified surface to those taken after prolonged ion bombardment. It is found that neither the crystal structure nor the surface topography play a significant role in cluster sputtering.