Electron stimulated desorption of H- from thin films of thymine and uracil

We present measurements of low energy (0-38 eV) electron stimulated desorption of H- from room temperature thin films of pure thymine (T) and uracil (U), condensed on polycrystalline Pt, and describe in detail the experimental methods required for such studies. The nominal film thicknesses are estimated to range from 0.08 to 2.7 monolayers; sublimation of the films at 69 degreesC (T) and 82 degreesC (U) onto the room temperature Pt substrate leads to nonuniform film growth, i.e., volumetric clustering, particularly in the submonolayer regime. H- formation by electron impact occurs via dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to the molecules, and results in strong desorption peaks near 8.6 eV for either molecule, whereas above 12-13 eV nonresonant dipolar dissociation dominates the desorption yields. Comparison of the present condensed phase results with gas phase measurements suggests that the desorbing H- produced at the DEA peak are mainly the result of CH bond cleavage, while near the desorption threshold of about 5 eV NH bond cleavage via DEA may also contribute to the H- signal. The present measurements suggest that localized resonances involving DNA bases, leading to the formation of anions and their associated neutral radical moieties, contribute to the resonant signature observed recently in the strand break yields of double stranded DNA irradiated with 3-20 eV electrons. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.