Desorption induced by electronic potential energy of multiply charged ions

Particle desorption is investigated in terms of bombardment of a GaAs surface by slow multiply charged Ar ions (charge state q less than or equal to 9, kinetic energy E(k) less than or equal to 3 keV). The desorption yield of Ga and As atoms as well as H+ ions drastically increased with the charge state of the incident Ar ions, but was changed little by the kinetic energy of the Ar ions, These results demonstrate that desorption reactions at the surface are greatly enhanced by the potential energy of the incident ions, From an analysis of the potential energy dependence of the desorption yield based on the Coulomb explosion model, it is found that the lifetime of multiple holes created by the multiply charged Ar ions is longer than that of a single hole by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude.