Wave packet dynamics of photon- and electron-stimulated desorption of ammonia from surfaces

Time-dependent quantum mechanical calculations have been carried out for the photon- and electron-stimulated desorption of ammonia from metal or semiconductor surfaces. The desorption is facilitated by a short-lived complex which excites the NH3 inversion mode. The desorption yield and its isotope effect have been obtained from a wave packet on two-dimensional empirical potential energy surfaces. The translational and vibrational distributions of the desorbed ammonia are also calculated. The desorption mechanism includes both direct and predesorption, but the latter predominates. It is shown that the quantum desorption dynamics is much more complex than the simple MGR model.