Dissociative electron attachment to Pt(PF3)4—a precursor for Focused Electron Beam Induced Processing (FEBIP)

Abstract

Experimental absolute cross sections for dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to Pt(PF₃)₄ are presented. Fragment anions resulting from the loss of one, two, three and four PF₃ ligands as well as the Pt(PF₃)F⁻ and the F⁻ ions were observed. The parent anion Pt(PF₃)⁻₄ is too short-lived to be detected. The dominant process is loss of one ligand, with a very large cross section of 20 000 pm²; the other processes are about 200× weaker, with cross sections around 100 pm², the naked Pt⁻ anion is formed with a cross section of only 1.8 pm². The resonances responsible for the DEA bands were assigned based on comparison with electron energy-loss spectra and spectra of vibrational excitation by electron impact. Bands around 0.5 eV and 2 eV were assigned to shape resonances with single occupation of virtual orbitals. A DEA band at 5.9 eV was assigned to a core-excited resonance corresponding to an electron very weakly bound to the lowest excited state. An F⁻ band at 12.1 eV is assigned to a core excited resonance with a vacancy in an orbital corresponding to the 2nd ionization energy of the PF₃ ligand. Implications of these findings for FEBIP are discussed.