Radiative Decay of Surface Plasmons from A1

Abstract

Photon emission from "nonradiative" surface plasmons created in A1 films bombarded with non-normally incident 80-keV electrons has been investigated. Identification was made from the wavelength of the peak emission and the dependence of the peak intensity of the radiation on (i) the surface roughness of the A1 film, (ii) the growth of an oxide layer on the A1, (iii) the A1 film thickness, (iv) the incident electron velocity, and (v) the angle of incidence of the bombarding electrons. Quantitative comparisons of these results with a theory of nonradiative surface-plasmon decay have been made.