Path-dependent neutralization of multiply charged Ar ions incident on Au(110)

Using a time-of-flight technique we have investigated the backscattering of 5 keV Ar(2+) and Ar(11+) projectiles from Au(110). A strong dependence on target azimuth is found for the neutral flux resulting from (quasi)binary projectile collisions with target atoms, while for the charged components only a weak dependence is seen. A deconvolution of the observed dependences based on trajectory simulations clearly shows site-specific neutralization differences between the various possible binary collisions occurring with surface atoms. Such differences must be properly accounted for in order to permit meaningful comparison with theory.