Sputter yields of ammonium chloride and solid glycerol

We have measured the sputtering yields of ammonium chloride and of frozen glycerol films under 8 keV Ar +˙ bombardment using a thin film depth profiling technique. The sputtering yield of ammonium chloride was 34±3 molecules (NH 4 Cl)/ion; for frozen glycerol the sputter yield was 54±9 molecules/ion. The results constrain possible mechanisms of damage suppression in organic secondary ion mass spectrometry.