Calculation of dissociative ionization cross sections of diatomic molecules

A model for calculating the dissociative ionization cross sections of diatomic molecules is developed. The activated state for dissociative ionizations is modeled to occur via the ejection of a bound electron and an excitation of another bound electron. This process is described by successive two-electron scatterings in the first Born and the binary-encounter approximations. Comparison of calculated cross sections with available experimental data for five diatomic molecules (${\mathrm{H}}_2$, CO, ${\mathrm{N}}_2$, NO, and ${\mathrm{O}}_2$) shows good agreement with incident-electron energies above 200 eV.