Electron Emission from Clean Solid Surfaces by Fast Ions

Total backward electron yields from 27 elemental, non-crystalline, clean solids were measured during bombardment by H⁺-, H-, H-, He⁺- and Ar⁺-ions in the energy range from 100 keV to 800 keV. The yields were found to exhibit an oscillatory dependence on the atomic number of the target material correlated with the periods of the periodic system. These Z₂-oscillations are relatively insensitive to the type of projectile and the impact energy at the high projectile energies of this experiment. Present theories of electron emission cannot explain the main experimental results. The reasons for this failure are discussed.