High resolution, wide range, thermal desorption spectrometry of rare gas layers: sticking, desorption kinetics, layer growth, phase transitions, and exchange processes

Dynamical range, resolution, and accuracy of thermal desorption spectroscopies (programmed and isothermal) have been considerably improved, and coupled with sample temperatures down to 5 K, to study adsorption and desorption kinetics of Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe on Ru(001). Layerwise growth is observed in all cases. Sticking increases markedly with coverage to saturate only at 2 monolayers and exhibits a quantum effect at zero coverage at least for Ne and Ar. Desorption rates show influences of layer structure, island growth, intralayer phase transitions, and non-equilibrium effects, of minority species, and of exchange processes in adsorption and desorption.