Ionic adsorption and dissociation cross section for nitrogen

Abstract

The adsorption of energetic N2+ ions on nickel and molybdenum surfaces has been investigated. Comparison of the sticking probabilities of N2+ and Ar+ as a function of ion energy indicates that the binding mechanism for these two gases is different. The experimental evidence suggests that the mechanism causing adsorption of N2+ may be dissociation upon collision with the surface and the subsequent adsorption of the resulting atomic nitrogen. The total absolute dissociation cross section has also been measured in nitrogen for electron energies from 0 to 300 eV. The cross section has a maximum value of 2.10-16 cm2 at an electron energy of about 90 eV.