FACTORS WHICH AFFECT PEAK SHAPES AND AREAS IN ION-SCATTERING SPECTROSCOPY

This study is a further attempt to understand how experimental factors influence signal intensities and peak shapes in ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS). Different inert gases and mixtures have been scattered off polycrystalline Pt and Cu using primary beam energies ranging from 500 to 2000 eV. The ISS signal intensities decrease significantly as the primary beam energy decreases or as the mass of the scattering ion increases. This fact is consistent with the assertion that the neutralization probability increases as the period of time that an ion spends near a metallic surface increases. The influence of isotopic distribution of the scattering gas on ISS peak shape is also examined using mixtures of Ne-20+ and Ne-22+.