Desorption mass spectrometry using cluster ions

Yields for Cs ⁺ ions emitted when cesium iodide targets are bombarded with clusters of formula H ⁺_n (with n ranging from 5 to 23) and of 600 keV energy have been measured. Results show that the yields vary as ( {dE }/{dX }) ⁴. Moreover there is evidence of an enhanced yield for a cluster ion over the sum of its individual atoms.