Ion Burial and Thermal Release of Noble Gases at Nickel Surfaces

Abstract

Noble gas ions in the energy range 100–2400 eV have been trapped in single crystal and in polycrystalline nickel targets. The thermal release spectra of these gases have been studied as a function of dosage, temperature, and pretreatment. Measurement of thermal release rates yield maxima from which critical activation energies can be deduced. Most of these activation energies appear to be characteristic of the metal bombarded. Activation energies obtained from these studies are compared with those for thermally activated processes in the bulk metal.