ELECTRONIC SPUTTERING - FROM ATOMIC PHYSICS TO CONTINUUM-MECHANICS

The surprising fact that even very complex molecules can be ejected intact into the vapor phase when a material is electronically excited by incident particles provides a new probe of the behavior of condensed matter at high excitation densities. The physics of the conversion of the electronic excitation energy into mechanical and chemical energy links atomic physics in a solid at low excitation densities to nanometer‐scale continuum mechanics at high excitation densities. Ejection of simple and complex molecules from surfaces probes the response of condensed matter to electronic excitations and has applications in fields as diverse as astrophysics and biomolecular mass spectrometry. © 1992, American Institute of Physics. All rights reserved.