Plasmon photoelectric effect from alkali halides

The existence of the plasmon photoelectric effect was postulated elsewhere by one of the authors. In the plasmon photoelectric effect, incident photons excite plasmons in the solid; the decay of plasmons excites electrons. The emergence of these electrons from the solid is responsible for a group of photoelectrons of definite energy. The existence of the plasmon photoelectric effect is confirmed by comparison of spectral photoelectric yield data with electron energy loss spectra in 16 alkali halides. The presence of the plasmon photoelectric effect explains additional peaks observed with some alkali halides in the energy spectra of photoelectrons. These peaks were not understood previously.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 10, pp. 7–16, October, 1974.     

Interpretation of ghost lines in secondary-electron spectra determined by XPS

The photoelectron energy corresponding to the Fermi level of an investigated specimen and the onset energy for detection of secondary electrons are two characteristic energy values that can be used for work-function evaluation. Secondary-electron onset measurements are usually carried out by applying an acceleration voltage between the specimen and the spectrometer entrance, giving a structured secondary-electron spectrum showing three types of secondary electrons: those from the specimen, those from the entrance-slit system, and those from the X-ray tube window. For the latter electrons the electrical field built up in the sample chamber acts as an energy analyzer, imaging a discrete energy interval onto the spectrometer entrance slit. The variation of energy and intensity of these “ghost-lines” is discussed as a function of the applied acceleration voltage and the specimen tilting angle, leading to optimized experimental parameters for recording of secondary-electron spectra.     

Characteristic energy gain and loss,double ionization,and ionization loss events in Be and BeO secondary electron spectra

Two satellite peaks have been observed on the high energy side of the Be KVV Auger peak. The lower energy satellite is attributed to coupling of energy from bulk plasmon de-excitations with Auger electrons, and the higher energy event to Auger electrons ejected from Be atoms with doubly ionized K levels. Following oxidation, the ionization loss spectra of BeO were observed to have structure which is interpreted as being related to the density of unfilled electron states above the BeO valence band. In addition, the characteristic loss and the low energy (“true secondary”) spectra of Be and BeO were determined. Peaks in these spectra are discussed in terms of characteristic energies related to excited electron states in the solids.     

Comparative analysis of characteristic electron energy loss spectra and inelastic scattering cross-section spectra of Fe

The inelastic electron scattering cross section spectra of Fe have been calculated based on experimental spectra of characteristic reflection electron energy loss as dependences of the product of the inelastic mean free path by the differential inelastic electron scattering cross section on the electron energy loss. It has been shown that the inelastic electron scattering cross-section spectra have certain advantages over the electron energy loss spectra in the analysis of the interaction of electrons with substance. The peaks of energy loss in the spectra of characteristic electron energy loss and inelastic electron scattering cross sections have been determined from the integral and differential spectra. It has been shown that the energy of the bulk plasmon is practically independent of the energy of primary electrons in the characteristic electron energy loss spectra and monotonically increases with increasing energy of primary electrons in the inelastic electron scattering cross-section spectra. The variation in the maximum energy of the inelastic electron scattering cross-section spectra is caused by the redistribution of intensities over the peaks of losses due to various excitations. The inelastic electron scattering cross-section spectra have been analyzed using the decomposition of the spectra into peaks of the energy loss. This method has been used for the quantitative estimation of the contributions from different energy loss processes to the inelastic electron scattering cross-section spectra of Fe and for the determination of the nature of the energy loss peaks.     

Secondary electron emission from thin carbon films

For the purpose of investigating how secondary electrons are produced in carbon, the correlation between energy-loss events and secondary electrons was studied experimentally by using the coincidence method. If a secondary electron is detected in coincidence with an electron transmitted through a thin film which has lost an amount of energy E, then the process causing this energy loss results in the production of secondary electrons. We established the existence of these coincidences and have taken inelastic and coincidence spectra for films of different thickness. We found that in carbon secondary electrons are predominantly produced as a result of energy losses of about 20 eV, with an efficiency of about 5%. The escape depth of secondary electrons was also estimated to be approximately 30 Å.     

Untersuchung der Anregung innerer Elektronen von Alkalihalogenidmolekülen im Energieverlustspektrum von 25 keV-Elektronen

The energy loss spectra of 25-keV electrons after interaction with alkali halide vapors were measured. For the energy losses in the energy rangeE?6eV the positions of the peaks are consistent with light absorption measurements considering the energy resolution of the loss spectra. At higher energy peaks were observed, which correspond to the excitation of inner electrons belonging to the alkali atoms. From electron diffraction diagramms it follows, that for the lithium halides the concentration of dimers is considerable.     

Electron emission from surfaces of alkali halides under the impact of metastable helium and neon atoms

Energy distributions of the electrons ejected from the evaporated film surfaces of LiF, LiCl, LiBr, NaF and NaCl by the impact of metastable He and Ne atoms have been measured. The observed distribution curves have two distinct structures: one peak is identified as the valence band structure caused by Penning ionization, while the other peak is ascribed to scattered electrons. The positions of the valence band peaks are shifted to lower ionization energy from the corresponding photoelectron peaks (by 0.1–1.5 eV depending on the substance). In contrast to the photoelectron spectra, the structure attributable to conduction bands appears only very weakly. The relative intensity of the peak caused by scattered electrons is either strong or weak depending on the combination of the metastable atom and the sample. The interpretation of this observation is that the scattered electron peak is enhanced when the energy of the metastable atom exceeds twice the band gap energy, i.e. when the electron—electron scattering of Penning electrons in the solid is feasible.     

Temperature dependent peaks in secondary electron emission spectra

Peaks in the secondary emission spectra not associated with Auger effects have been observed in various metals (particularly copper and cobalt). These peaks are suppressed at elevated temperature and appear to have amplitudes which are unique functions of temperature. They are characteristic of well ordered, and, particularly, clean surfaces, and are interpreted in terms of the diffraction of the emitted secondary electrons.     

Secondary electron spectra of gold under bombardment by very low-energy positrons

Measurements of the secondary electron energy spectra resulting from very low-energy positron bombardment of a polycrystalline Au surface are presented. The low-energy part of the secondary spectra contain significant contributions from two processes: (1) annihilation-induced Auger electrons that have lost energy before leaving the surface and (2) secondary electrons resulting from direct energy exchange with an incident positron. Our data indicate that the second process (direct energy exchange with the primary positron) is still important at and below 3 eV incident beam energy. Since energy conservation precludes secondary electron generation below an incident beam energy equal to the difference between the electron and positron work functions (∼3 eV), the fact that we still observe significant secondary electron emission at energies at or below this value provides strong evidence that the incident positrons are falling directly into the surface state and transferring all of the energy difference to an outgoing secondary electron. These measurements were also used to obtain the first experimentally determined upper limit on the intensity of the spectrum of Auger-induced secondary electrons.     

3 to 15 keV Ar+ induced Auger electron emission from Si and Ar

Ar⁺ induced Auger electrons from Si and Ar were investigated at bombardment energies between 3–15 keV and target currents of a few μA. The Auger electron yields were compared with secondary ion yields of Si and Ar by simultaneous SIMS-AES measurements. In the ion induced Auger spectra of Si five Auger peaks and in the Ar spectra three Auger peaks were observed. The ion induced Auger electron yield of Si and Ar were found to be strongly dependent upon the primary ion energy. “Bulk like” and “atomic like” Auger transitions of ion induced Auger electrons of Si were observed.     

A study of the orientation dependence of the electron energy loss spectra for single crystal films of copper and silver

Apart from two peaks caused by bulk and surface plasmons, four or five peaks (depending on the crystal type) of electron energy losses due to inter- and intraband electron transitions are observed in the investigation of the electron energy loss spectra for metals (Cu, Ag). A comparative analysis of the spectra for Cu or Ag films reveals a shift of bulk plasmon loss peaks to higher values for polycrystals, as in the case of transition metals and semiconductors. In a study concerning the orientation dependence of the energy loss spectra (ELS) for electrons scattered from the copper and silver surface, the anisotropy of the bulk plasmon peak is found when the incident beam’s polar angle or the sample’s azimuthal angle are altered. The anisotropy of the primary electron energy loss for plasmon excitation is also observed, depending on the sample orientation relative to the direction incident electrons. The energy losses are found to increase with an increasing atomic packing density of planes and crystal transparency relative to the incident beam.     

Ergebnisse von Ballonmessungen an sekundären Elektronen und Photonen

A scintillation counter telescope has been flown in the upper atmosphere at2.4g/cm² from Bergen/Lüneburger Heide for the measurement of electrons and photons of the secondary cosmic radiation. The aim was to get the differential energy spectra of secondary photons in an energy range from 1 to 44 MeV and of secondary and return albedo electrons from 2 to 35 MeV for three different zenith angles (0 °, 90 ° and 180 °). The received photon spectrum is in good agreement to the results of other authors as well to lower as to higher energies. It has been shown, that the spectrum has a great anisotropy with a maximum of intensity around the horizon. The main reason therefore is the atmospheric deepness in the different directions. In this energy range we have found that the Bremsstrahlung of the return albedo electrons is the main reason for the photon flux and secondly the π⁰-decay. The measured electron spectra don't show any significant difference relative to the three zenith angles. These secondary electrons are produced isotropically in the upper atmosphere and they consist of a mixture of secondary and return albedo electrons.     

The origin and elimination of spurious peaks in threshold electron photoionization spectra

Autoionization electrons in threshold photoionization spectra are known to occur. The effect of such electrons on the interpretation of threshold electron spectra is discussed and a new method is described which enables one to discriminate between zero kinetic energy electrons and energetic electrons in photoionization experiments with little ambiguity. The method largely overcomes the main problem present in some previously described threshold electron studies; namely, the line-of-sight transmission of energetic electrons which gives rise to non-threshold electron peaks. A rejection ratio of 25 is readily obtained for 0.038 eV electrons compared with threshold (zero kinetic energy) electrons and the (small) transition probability for energetic electrons falls off more rapidly than for analysers previously described. Design parameters based on electron trajectory calculations are given for the analyser used, and photoionization results on argon are presented.     

SrS:HoF3薄膜的电致发光机制

研究了SrS:HoF₃薄膜的光谱特性,分析了光谱与驱动电压的关系,认为SrS:HoF₃薄膜电致发光不是以直接碰撞激发机制为主;方波脉冲激发下没有看到下降沿发光的现象,可能不存在发光中心离化的过程.比较SrS:HoF₃薄膜的电致发光与光致发光光谱,认为过热电子碰撞激发基质晶格,基质激发后将能量传递到发光中心是主要的激发过程.     

Energy spectrum of ejected electrons in ionization of hydrogen atoms by electrons

Energy spectrum of ejected electrons in ionization of hydrogen atoms has been calculated following a multiple scattering theory of Das and Seal [15]. The results show peaks around two to three Rydbergs of energies of the ejected electrons, for incident electron energy of 250 eV and 500 eV, considered here, and for different combinations of the angular variables of the scattered and the ejected electrons, for scattering in a plane. The peaks are very similar to those observed in relativistic K-shell ionization of Ag atoms by electrons at 500 KeV energy [6]. The physical origin of these peaks may be traced to the second order scatterings, scattering first by the atomic nucleus (or the atomic electron) and then a second time by the atomic electron. These peaks are, however, absent in the first Born results. Experimental verification of the present results and theoretical calculation by some other well-known methods will be interesting.     

Molecular effects in ion-induced secondary electron spectra

The energy spectra of slow secondary electrons from a copper surface under bombardment with H⁺, H⁺₂, and H⁺₃ ions have been measured at an energy of 200 keV/atom. Distinct molecular effects are revealed in the ratios of the respective distribution curves for molecular ion and proton impact.     

Measurement of the isotope composition of hydrogen in carbon materials using elastically scattered electron peak spectroscopy

The quantitative composition of hydrogen and helium isotopes in the surface layers of structural materials is reconstructed using the developed technique for processing the energy spectra of electrons scattered from plane-parallel layers of solids into a preset solid angle element. These are the spectra measured with a high energy resolution ΔE ∷ 0.2−0.4 eV. The change in the shape of peaks for elastically scattered electrons is analyzed depending on the probe electron beam energy and experimental geometry. The theory of electrons scattered from plane-parallel layers of solids is constructed using the solution of the boundary value problem for the transfer equation by invariant immersion methods. The analytic solution to the system of equations is found in the small-angle approximation for the reflection and transmission functions. The results of calculations are compared with experimental data on electron scattering from polyethylene. The shape of the energy spectra of electron scattering from deuterium and tritium is predicted. The sensitivity threshold of the method relative to percentage concentration of hydrogen isotopes in hydrocarbons is analyzed.     

Determining the carrier-envelope offset frequency of 5-fs pulses with extreme nonlinear optics in ZnO

We excite ZnO samples with two-cycle optical pulses directly from a mode-locked oscillator with average powers of several tens of milliwatts. The emitted light reveals peaks at the carrier-envelope offset frequency f(?) and at 2f(?) in the radio-frequency spectra. These peaks can still be detected in layers as thin as 350 nm-a step toward determining the carrier-envelope offset phase itself.     

Resonant Raman spectroscopy of graphene grown on copper substrates

A study of resonant Raman spectroscopy of the as-grown graphene on copper foils is presented. Different laser energies have been used to excite the sample, in order to obtain the dependence of the Raman features (intensities, frequencies and line widths) on the laser energy. We show that the normalised spectra acquired using green laser lines are more intense, with a maximum around 2.3 eV. Moreover, the results show a broader 2D (or G′) band when a UV laser is used to excite the sample, which is explained by the manifestation of the trigonal warping effect in the dispersion of electrons and phonons around the Dirac point.     

Energieverlustspektren der Alkalihalogenide und der Metalle Cu,Ag und Au und Vergleich mit optischen Messungen

Energy loss spectra of 50 keV electrons have been measured in transmission of the alkali halides and of Cu, Ag, and Au at zero scattering angle. These spectra are compared with the quantity ?Im(1/ε) determined from optical measurements. The general agreement is good, especially in the low energy loss region. In the case that the foil thicknesses could be measured, the absolute intensity of ?Im(1/ε) is found to be equal or up to three times larger than from optical data. In addition to the sharp low energy peaks (excitons), characteristic sharp peaks are found at higher energies: 60 eV for the Li-halides, 33 eV for the Na-halides, and 20 eV, 17 eV, and 13 eV for the K-, Rb-, and Cs-halides respectively. These peaks are very little shifted by the different anions in the crystal lattice and may be due to excitons caused by alkali band transitions. We have further examined several peaks in the loss spectra of LiF, KCl, KBr and the Na-halides: 1. The angular dependence of the loss intensity is in agreement with theory. 2. The dispersion of the peaks is much smaller than for plasma losses. 3. The temperature dependence of the peak energy has been found quite different for different peaks.