Dependence of Secondary Electron Emission from MgO Single Crystals on Angle of Incidence

Abstract

The influence of the angle of incidence of primary electrons on the energy distribution and total yield of secondary electrons from MgO cleaved single crystals has been studied. Charging effects were minimized by using single pulse techniques. The relative number of low-energy secondary electrons decreases with increasing angles of incidence. The effect appears to be most marked at primary energies in the vicinity of the maximum of the yield curve. At lower and higher primary energies the dependence on angle of incidence diminishes. Under most conditions the total yield increases with increasing angles of incidence. The magnitude of the increase is influenced by the primary electron energy. At low energies a slight decrease in total yield with increasing incidence angles has been observed. A dependence of the backscattered fraction of electrons on the angle of incidence of the primaries has been observed at several primary electron energies.