Effect of Temperature on the Exoemission of Electrons from Abraded Aluminum Surfaces

Abstract

A model and resulting theory for the exoemission of electrons from metal surfaces are presented. The model states that the exoemission is governed by the diffusion of vacancies in the metal, vacancies created by the abrasion. A vacancy, upon diffusing to the surface, may give up its energy to an electron. However, when in the same event, a photon also transfers its energy to the electron, the electron may be emitted. Experiments performed show the exoemission decay to be composed of two exponential decays. Both exponential decay constants vary with temperature according to the equation: $${\mathrm{k=Fe}}^{\mathrm{-E/RT}}$$ . Here, F is a constant and E is an activation energy which, measured, approximates 5.6 kcal/mole. A comparison between experiment and theory give the theory corroboration.