DYNAMICS OF C60+ SURFACE IMPACT - ROLLING, DEFORMATION, DISINTEGRATION, AND DEPOSITION ON HOPG GRAPHITE

Cluster surface collisions of C60+ (Buckminster-fullerene) ions with pyrolytic graphite are studied by time of flight mass spectroscopy in the energy range of 100 eV to 1500 eV at oblique angles of incidence extending our previous studies with steep angles of incidence. Analysis of the velocity dependence of the scattered cluster ions reveals that the normal and tangential component of the ion velocity have different significance for the collision dynamics. The tangential component is partially transformed into rotational energy of the C60+ during the interaction with the surface as may be explained by an intuitive and astonishingly simple rolling ball model. In contrast, the normal component of the velocity appears to determine the amount of energy transferred into vibrational and deformational energy of projectile and target. At high "normal energies" the C60+ disintegrate significantly and can also be partially deposited onto the surface.