No abstract

v = 11 and v = 10. For scattering from VO 2 additionally a small amount of population is observed in the vibrational states 4 < v < 10. Rotational state distributions of scattered NO(v = 3) and NO(v = 2) from the scattering experiments of NO(v = 3, J = 0.5) from RFMS prepared VO 2 thin films are analyzed. It is shown that the rotational energy of scattered NO(v = 3) is significantly higher that the rotational excitation of thermal NO(v = 3) at the surface temperature. The rotational excitation of the vibrationally relaxed NO(v = 2) is more than 50 % higher than the rotational excitation of NO(v = 3). The same effect for the rotational excitation of NO(v = 11) and NO(v = 10) is also shown in the scattering experiments of NO(v = 11, J = 0.5) scattered from RFMS prepared VO 2 thin films and for NO(v = 11, J = 0.5) scattered from SiO 2 . This suggests that a mechanism is present during the scattering which transfers vibrational energy to the rotational quanta which has yet not been reported for NO scattering from metal surfaces.