The angular dependence of the Ge sputter yield is reported for primary beam energies between 270 and 3 keV For energies above 1keV no full oxidation occurs, whereas in the sub-keV energy range, full oxidation of the Ge is possible. The oxidation state and the ionization probability change very abruptly as function of the incidence angle. The length of the transient is angle independent at 3 keV, while there is a clear angular dependence of the transient for a primary beam of 500 eV O-2. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.