Stimulated exoelectron emission from the surface of insulating solids

Abstract

The term “exoelectrons” cannot be found in any encyclopedia, dictionary, textbook, or handbook of physics, solid state science or surface phenomena. Yet, the effect of structure dependent emission of low energy electrons that occurs from surfaces of many insulating solids at temperatures well below those at which thermionic emission occurs has been the subject of more than 300 publications and several international conferences, most recently in Sverdlovsk, 1969′ and Braunschweig, 1970. So far, only one recent review of a particular application of this effect, namely in radiation dosimetry, is available in Englih. It is the purpose of this review to provide an introduction to the field in general and its many applications for the increasing number of scientists who have become interested in exoelectron emission.