Correlations between survival probabilities and ionization energies of slow ions colliding with room-temperature and heated surfaces of carbon, tungsten, and beryllium.

Survival probabilities, S(a) (%), of hydrocarbon ions C1, C2, and C3 and several nonhydrocarbon ions (Ar(+), N(2)(+), CO(2)(+)) on room-temperature (hydrocarbon-covered) and heated (600 degrees C) surfaces of carbon (HOPG), tungsten, and beryllium were experimentally determined using the ion-surface scattering method for several incident energies from a few electronvolts up to about 50 eV and for the incident angle of 30 degrees (with respect to the surface). A simple correlation between S(a) and the ionization energy (IE) of the incident ions was found in the semilogarithmic plot of S(a) versus IE. The plots of the data at 31 eV were linear for all studied surfaces and could be fitted by an empirical equation log S(a) = a - b(IE). The values of the parameters a and b were determined for all investigated room-temperature and heated surfaces and can be used to estimate unknown survival probabilities of ions on these surfaces from their ionization energies.