Emission of secondary ions after grazing impact of keV ions on solid surfaces

Abstract We have scattered He + and Ar + ions with energies of 10 and 20 keV from solid surfaces and investigated by means of a quadrupole mass spectrometer the emission of secondary ions. Compared to the established method of secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), the impact of ions proceeds under a grazing angle of incidence of about 2°. In experiments with a Cu(1 0 0) target covered with an ultrathin Fe 3 O 4 film as well as ZnO and ZnMgO surfaces we have explored some basic features of this variant of SIMS concerning the potential application as surface analytical tool.