Collision induced desorption by hot atoms: Desorption of O2 from Ag(110)

A detailed study, using molecular dynamics, of O2 desorption from Ag(110) following a collision with hot oxygen atoms is presented. The interactions in the system are described by semiempirical model potentials. The variation of desorption yield and desorbate angular and energy distributions as a function of hot atom energy and surface coverage is examined. The computational results clearly show that the collision induced desorption, following photo-induced dissociation of O2, is a plausible explanation of the experimental findings. The coverage dependence of collision induced desorption cross section and the angular distribution of desorbates agree well with the corresponding measured quantities. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.