mechanistic model of the ion beam induced deposition (IBID) process is proposed, and an experimental system for measuring IBID is described. In IBID, the kinetic energy of the incident ion is deposited in the substrate surface resulting in the ejection of atoms (sputtering), and the decomposition of adsorbed molecules. Net deposition occurs when the number of atoms added through decomposition exceeds the number removed by sputtering.

Gold films were deposited by decomposing dimethyl gold hexafluoroacetylacetonate (C7H7F6O2Au) molecules with a 5 keV argon ion beam. The beam current density was 5 μA/cm2. These films were deposited on quartz crystal microbalances (QCM). The QCM's provide an in-situ measurement of the deposition rate as a function of ion dose, dose rate, gas pressure, and substrate temperature. The mass of the depositing film increases with increasing ion dose. The deposition yield, or mass deposited per incident ion, is independent of the power input of the ion beam and therefore, the decomposition is not due to macroscopic heating. The deposition yield is shown to depend on the sputter yield of the substrate. The yield increases with increasing gas pressure and decreasing substrate temperature. This increase is proportional to the adsorption of the organometallic gas.