Secondary Electron Emission from Solid Surfaces Bombarded by Medium Energy Ions

Abstract

The results of Cawthron, Cotterell, and Oliphant for the emission of electrons produced by bombardment of a metal surface with various kinds of positive ions are compared with the predictions of proposed theories. It is seen that the complexity of the interaction processes occurring when a positive ion enters a surface is such that the emission process can only be described in a non-analytical manner, using a statistical treatment. The following discussion indicates that the observed results can be predicted qualitatively over a reasonable range of bombarding energies for many targets and ions by applying the theory of Parilis and Kishinevski. The energy loss cross sections, as well as the actual ionization cross sections, are shown to be important factors in determining the total emission.