Charged particle erosion of solid rare gases and dilute rare gas alloys

We present the first experimental results on electron-induced erosion of solid neon. The measurements are interpreted qualitatively within a new model invoking excitation transport by free excitons and their subsequent decay at the surface. The model accounts for the magnitude of the observed yield and the energy dependence. A theoretically predicted decrease in the erosion yield due to doping with a heavier rare gas, in casu argon, has been observed experimentally. The strong influence of very small amounts of different types of impurities makes sample purity a crucial problem in investigations of the erosion of solid rare gases.