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We present results from experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations obtained with C60 and Au400 impacting on free-standing graphene, graphene oxide (GO), and graphene-supported molecular layers. The experiments were run on custom-built ToF reflectron mass spectrometers with C60 and Au-LMIS sources with acceleration potentials generating 50 keV C602+ and 440–540 keV Au4004+. Bombardment-detection was in the same mode as MD simulation, i.e., a sequence of individual projectile impacts with separate collection/identification of the ejecta from each impact in either the forward (transmission) or backward (reflection) direction. For C60 impacts on single layer graphene, the secondary ion (SI) yields for C2 and C4 emitted in transmission are ∼0.1 (10%). Similar yields were observed for analyte-specific ions from submonolayer deposits of phenylalanine. MD simulations show that graphene acts as a trampoline, i.e., they can be ejected without destruction. Another topic investigated dealt with the chemical composition of free-standing GO. The elemental composition was found to be approximately COH2. We have also studied the impact of Au400 clusters on graphene. Again SI yields were high (e.g., 1.25 C−/impact). 90–100 Au atoms evaporate off the exiting projectile which experiences an energy loss of ∼72 keV. The latter is a summation of energy spent on rupturing the graphene, ejecting carbon atoms and clusters and a dipole projectile/hole interaction. The charge distribution of the exiting projectiles is ∼50% neutrals and ∼25% either negatively or positively charged. We infer that free-standing graphene enables detection of attomole to zeptomole deposits of analyte via cluster-SI mass spectrometry.We present results from experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations obtained with C60 and Au400 impacting on free-standing graphene, graphene oxide (GO), and graphene-supported molecular layers. The experiments were run on custom-built ToF reflectron mass spectrometers with C60 and Au-LMIS sources with acceleration potentials generating 50 keV C602+ and 440–540 keV Au4004+. Bombardment-detection was in the same mode as MD simulation, i.e., a sequence of individual projectile impacts with separate collection/identification of the ejecta from each impact in either the forward (transmission) or backward (reflection) direction. For C60 impacts on single layer graphene, the secondary ion (SI) yields for C2 and C4 emitted in transmission are ∼0.1 (10%). Similar yields were observed for analyte-specific ions from submonolayer deposits of phenylalanine. MD simulations show that graphene acts as a trampoline, i.e., they can be ejected without destruction. Another topic investigated dealt with the chemical ...

Thermal stability is important for many thin film organic semiconductor devices but is challenging due to their weakly Van der Waals-bonded nature. Here, we show that diluting common small molecule hole transport materials through co-evaporation with the amorphous fluoropolymer Teflon AF leads to a dramatic improvement in their thermal and morphological stability without sacrificing electrical performance. Blend films with 25 vol. % Teflon decrease the drive voltage of single layer hole-only devices by more than 30% and dramatically increase their operating temperature limit to over 250 °C. The stability improvement appears to result from a nanoscale network of Teflon chains that repolymerize throughout the blend film following evaporation and inhibit gross movement of the organic semiconductor molecules. These results open up a pathway to stabilize the morphology of small molecule organic semiconductors and point to a more general opportunity to exploit semiconductor dilution to systematically vary thermal, optical, and other material properties without compromising electrical transport.

We describe an ion source based on the spontaneous desorption process. The production, acceleration, and separation processes allow for the production of keV energy polyatomic ions while maintaining a high signal‐to‐background ratio. Both atomic and polyatomic ions with up to 37 keV energy were generated. Because the spontaneous desorption process is naturally pulsed, the ion source was attached to a dual time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer for secondary ion mass spectrometry experiments. In this article, we describe the design of both the polyatomic ion source and the mass spectrometer.

‐coincidence counting techniques have been used in conjunction with time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (TOF‐MS) to study the impact of MeV/amu ions on surfaces. Several samples were studied including Au metal and a series of polymers. The results are consistent with a Coulomb explosion model for the secondary ion desorption in plasma desorption mass spectrometry. Correlations were observed between the emission of H+ and the emission of certain hydrocarbon ions from the polymer samples. These correlations indicate a chemical relation in the formation of H+ and other hydrocarbon ions and imply that low mass hydrocarbon ions are formed close to the center of the impact site during the collision of primary ion with the sample. Also, we have shown that the coincidence data contains information about the structure of the samples and that with coincidence counting, an estimate of the yield of secondary ions can be obtained without knowledge of how many primary ions strike the surface.

We present the first data from individual C60 impacting one to four layer graphene at 25 and 50 keV. Negative secondary ions and electrons emitted in transmission were recorded separately from each impact. The yields for C(n)(-) clusters are above 10% for n ≤ 4, they oscillate with electron affinities and decrease exponentially with n. The result can be explained with the aid of MD simulation as a post-collision process where sufficient vibrational energy is accumulated around the rim of the impact hole for sputtering of carbon clusters. The ionization probability can be estimated by comparing experimental yields of C(n)(-) with those of C(n)(0) from MD simulation, where it increases exponentially with n. The ionization probability can be approximated with ejecta from a thermally excited (3700 K) rim damped by cluster fragmentation and electron detachment. The experimental electron probability distributions are Poisson-like. On average, three electrons of thermal energies are emitted per impact. The thermal excitation model invoked for C(n)(-) emission can also explain the emission of electrons. The interaction of C60 with graphene is fundamentally different from impacts on 3D targets. A key characteristic is the high degree of ionization of the ejecta.

We describe an innovative mode for localizing surface molecules. In this methodology, individual C60 impacts at 50 keV are localized using an electron emission microscope, EEM, synchronized with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer for the detection of the concurrently emitted secondary ions. The instrumentation and methodologies for generating ion maps are presented. The performance of the localization scheme depends on the characteristics of the electron emission, those of the EEM and of the software solutions for image analysis. Using 50 keV C60 projectiles, analyte specific maps and maps of co-emitted species have been obtained. The individual impact sites were localized within 1-2 μm. A distinctive feature of recording individual impacts is the ability to identify co-emitted ions which originate from molecules co-located within ~10 nm.

Positive and negative hydrogen ion clusters were studied using particle desorption mass spectrometry (PDMS). The only species found were H−, H+, H+2 , and H+3. Their relative desorption yields were determined for a variety of samples and substrate temperatures. It was found that the H+ , H+2 , and H+3 yields obey roughly an exponential law with respect to the square root of their masses. The mechanism of the desorption of hydrogen clusters is discussed on the basis of the gas phase and Coulomb repulsion models.

This paper describes the design and operation of a time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer that uses fast, heavy ions from the spontaneous fission of Cf‐252 to desorb species from the surfaces of solids. The technique provides for a simultaneous, multimass, isotope specific, elemental, and molecular surface characterization without complications due to surface charging.