The effect of Xe+ bombardment on the surface morphology of four different polymers, polystyrene (PS), poly(phenylene oxide), polyisobutylene, and polydimethylsiloxane, was investigated in ion energy and fluence ranges of interest for secondary ion mass spectrometry depth-profiling analysis. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was applied to analyze the surface topography of pristine and irradiated polymers. AFM analyses of nonirradiated polymer films showed a feature-free surface with different smoothness. We studied the influence of different Xe+ beam parameters, including the incidence angle, ion energy (660-4000 eV), current density (0.5 x 10(2) to 8.7 x 10(2) nA/cm(2)), and ion fluence (4 x 10(14) to 2 X 10(17) ion/cm(2)). Xe+ bombardment of PS with 3-4 keV at a high current density did not induce any change in the surface morphology. Similarly, for ion irradiation with lower energy, no surface morphology change was found with a current density higher than 2.6 x 10(2) nA/cm(2) and an ion fluence up to 4 x 10(16) ion/cm(2). However, Xe+ irradiation with a lower current density and a higher ion fluence led to topography development for all of the polymers. The roughness of the polymer surface increased, and well-defined patterns appeared. The surface roughness increased with ion irradiation fluence and with the decrease of the current density. A pattern orientation along the beam direction was visible for inclined incidence between 15 degrees and 45 degrees with respect to the surface normal. Orientation was not seen at normal incidence. The surface topography development could be explained on the basis of the balance between surface damage and sputtering induced by the primary ion beam and redeposition-adsorption from the gas phase. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analyses of irradiated PS showed strong surface modifications of the molecular structure and the presence of new material. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.