Effects of adsorbates on the formation of doubly excited He atoms during impact of He2+ ions on Fe(110) and Ni(110) surfaces

The formation of doubly excited states of He atoms during collisions of He²⁺ ions with projectile energies between 74 eV and 124 eV with an Fe(110) and a Ni(110) surface is studied via Auger electron spectroscopy. We observe that the electron spectra from autoionization of doubly excited states of 2s², 2s2p, 2p² configurations show a pronounced dependence on the coverage with oxygen for both surfaces. For a controlled O₂ adsorption on the Fe(110) and Ni(110) surfaces we can explain the resulting changes in the electron spectra by the modification of the measured work functions of the target surfaces. In terms of thermal desorption and dissolution into the bulk of surface contaminations at elevated temperatures, we present an alternative interpretation of similar previous studies by another group, where the local electron spin polarization of Fe(110) and Ni(110) surfaces was deduced from changes in the electron spectra as function of target temperature.