HEAVY-ION-INDUCED SPUTTERING AND CRATERING OF BIOMOLECULAR SURFACES

We measured the electronic-stopping-power dependences of mega-electronvolt atomic-ion-induced sputtering and cratering of bio-organic targets. We employed a collector method to study relative total yields of sputtered intact peptide molecules and scanning force microscopy to study craters formed by individual ions incident on amino acid crystals. Yields of intact sputtered peptide molecules, measured for the first time, and crater volumes in the amino acid crystals showed similar, steep dependences on electronic stopping power.