Effect of Auger neutralization on yields of He ions backscattered and alkali ions sputtered from the surface of alkali halides by keV He ion impact

The yields of ions and neutrals backscattered and alkali ions sputtered from LiF crystals by keV He⁺ ion impact have been measured by means of the coaxial impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy in time of flight analysis mode using the charging-up effect. It is found that as the charging-up potential increases due to continuous irradiation of the pulsed ion beam, the time of flight of the He⁺ ions backscattered shifts toward the shorter time, while that of the neutrals backscattered shifts toward the longer, and that of Li ions sputtered also shifts much more clearly toward the shorter. The charging-up potential has been estimated as a function of irradiation time of the pulsed ion beam from the time of flight data and the ion to neutral ratio in the backscattering yields is estimated to be about 0.15. The mechanisms for ionization on He and sputtering of alkali ions are discussed in terms of charging-up and trion (bihole and electron) produced by Auger neutralization of keV He⁺ ions at the target surface.