Secondary electron emission and photoemission from a negative electron affinity semiconductor with large mean escape depth of excited electrons

The formulae for parameters of a negative electron affinity semiconductor(NEAS)with large mean escape depth of secondary electrons A(NEASLD)are deduced.The methods for obtaining parameters such asλ,B,E_(pom)and the maximumδandδat 100.0 keV≥E_(po)≥1.0 keV of a NEASLD with the deduced formulae are presented(B is the probability that an internal secondary electron escapes into the vacuum upon reaching the emission surface of the emitter,δis the secondary electron yield,E_(po)is the incident energy of primary electrons and E_(pom)is the E_(po)corresponding to the maximumδ).The parameters obtained here are analyzed,and it can be concluded that several parameters of NEASLDs obtained by the methods presented here agree with those obtained by other authors.The relation between the secondary electron emission and photoemission from a NEAS with large mean escape depth of excited electrons is investigated,and it is concluded that the presented method of obtaining A is more accurate than that of obtaining the corresponding parameter for a NEAS with largeλ_(ph)(λ_(ph)being the mean escape depth of photoelectrons),and that the presented method of calculating B at E_(po)>10.0 keV is more widely applicable for obtaining the corresponding parameters for a NEAS with largeλ_(ph).

Effects of O_(2)adsorption on secondary electron emission properties

The surface adsorption of gas molecules is a key factor limiting the secondary electron yield(SEY)of a material in many areas of applied physics.The influence of O_(2)adsorption on the SEY of metallic Ag is investigated in this work.To account for the particle distribution,we propose a BET theory based on multilayer O_(2)physisorption model.Furthermore,based on the phenomenological model of secondary electron(SE)emission and by taking into account the different scattering processes between electrons and particles in the adsorbed layer,we develop a numerical model of SEY in the adsorbed state using Monte Carlo simulations.The relationships among O_(2)adsorption,adsorption layer thickness,and SEY variation characteristics are then examined through a series of experiments.After 12-h exposure to O_(2),the clean samples increases12%-19%of the maximum value of SEY and 2.3 nm in thickness of the adsorbed layer.Experimental results are also compared with the results from the MC model to determine whether the model is accurate.

An improved secondary electrons energy spectrum model and its application in multipactor discharge

Secondary electron emission （SEE） of metal and dielectric materials plays a key role in multipactor discharge, which is a bottle neck problem for high-power satelliate components. Measurements of both the secondary electron yield （SEY） and the secondary electron energy spectrum （SES） are performed on metal samples for an accurate description of the real SEE phenomenon. In order to simplify the fitting process and improve the simulation efficiency, an improved model is proposed for the description of secondary electrons （SE） emitted from the material surface, including true, elastic, and inelastic SE. Embedding the novel SES model into the electromagnetic particle-in-cell method, the electronic resonant multipactor in microwave components is simulated successfully and hence the discharge threshold is predicted. Simulation results of the SES variation in the improved model demonstrate that the multipactor threshold is strongly dependent on SES. In addition, the mutipactor simulation results agree quite well with the experiment for the practical microwave component, while the numerical model of SEY and SES fits well with the sample data taken from the microwave component.

Secondary electron yield suppression using millimeter-scale pillar array and explanation of the abnormal yield–energy curve

The phenomenon of secondary electron emission is of considerable interest in areas such as particle accelerators and on-board radio frequency(RF) components.Total secondary electron yield(TSEY) is a parameter that is frequently used to describe the secondary electron emission capability of a material.It has been widely recognized that the TSEY vs.primary electron energy curve has a single-hump shape.However, the TSEY–energy curve with a double-hump shape was also observed experimentally-this anomaly still lacks explanation.In this work, we explain this anomaly with the help of a millimetre-scale(mm-scale) silver pillar array fabricated by three-dimensional(3 D) printing technology.The TSEY–energy curve of this pillar array as well as its flat counterpart is obtained using sample current method.The measurement results show that for the considered primary electron energy(40–1500 eV), the pillar array can obviously suppress TSEY,and its TSEY–energy curve has an obvious double-hump shape.Through Monte Carlo simulations and electron beam spot size measurements, we successfully attribute the double-hump effect to the dependence of electron beam spot size on the primary electron energy.The observations of this work may be of help in determining the TSEY of roughened surface with characteristic surface structures comparable to electron beam spot size.It also experimentally confirms the TSEY suppression effect of pillar arrays.

A MONTE CARLO SIMULATION OF SECONDARY ELECTRON AND BACKSCATTERED ELECTRON IMAGES IN SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

A new parallel Monte Carlo simulation method of secondary electron (SE) and back scattered electron images (BSE) of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for a com plex geometric structure has been developed. This paper describes briefly the si mulation method and the modification to the conventional sampling method for the step length. Example simulation results have been obtained for several artifici al structures.

Characteristics of a Sheath with Secondary Electron Emission in the Double Walls of a Hall Thruster

In order to investigate the effects of secondary electrons, which are emitted from the wall, on the performance of a thruster, a one-dimensional fluid model of the plasma sheath in double walls is applied to study the characteristics of a magnetized sheath. The effects of secondary electron emission （SEE） coefficients and trapping coefficients, as well as magnetic field, on the structure of the plasma sheath are investigated. The results show that sheath potential and wall potential rise with the increment of SEE coefficient and trapping coefficient which results in a reduced sheath thickness. In addition, magnetic field strength will influence the sheath potential distributions.

Measurement of Secondary Electron Energy Spectra of Polymethyl Methacrylate

We report on a novel and convenient method of measuring secondary electron spectra for insulators in a secondary electron yield measurement system with a planar grid analyzer configuration and a metal mesh probe. In this measurement, the planar grid is negatively biased to force some emitted secondary electrons to return to the sample surface and to neutralize charges accumulated on the sample during the previous beam irradiation. The surface potential of the sample is then measured by use of a metal mesh probe. The grid bias for neutralization corresponding to the zero surface potential is determined based on the linear relationship between the surface potential and the grid bias. Once the surface potential equals zero, the secondary electron spectra of polymethyl methacrylate（PMMA） are studied experimentally by measuring the -curve and then fitting it to Everhart＇s formula. The measurement results show that the peak energy and the full width at half maximum of the spectra are 4.26 eV and 14.06 eV, respectively.

Formulae for secondary electron yield from insulators and semiconductors

The processes and characteristics of secondary electron emission in insulators and semiconductors were studied, and the formulae for the maximum yield(δ_m) at W_(pOm)≤ 800 eV and the secondary electron yield from insulators and semiconductors δ at the primary incident energy of 2 keV≤ W_(pO) < 10 keV(δ_(2-10)) and10 keV ≤ W_(pO)≤100 keV(δ_(10-100)) were deduced. The calculation results were compared with their corresponding experimental data. It is concluded that the deduced formulae can be used to calculate δ_(2-100)at W_(pOm)≤ 800 eV.

Electronic Structures and Alloying Behaviors of Ferrite Phases in High Co-Ni Secondary Hardened Martensitic Steels

The electronic structure of ferrite (tempered martensite phase) in high Co-Ni secondary hardened martensitic steel has been investigated. The local density of states (LOOS) of alloying elements in the steel displays the relationship between solid solubility and the shape of the LDOS. The bond order integral (BOI) between atoms in the steel shows that the directional bonding of the p orbital of Si or C leads to the brittleness of the steel. At last, ΣBOI between atoms demonstrate that C, Co, Mn, Cr, Mo, Si strengthen the alloyed steel through solid-solution effects.

Study on secondary electron suppression in compact D–D neutron generator

A compact D–D neutron generator, with a peak neutron yield of D–D reactions up to 2.48×10~8 n/s is being developed at Lanzhou University in China for application in real-time neutron activation analysis. During tests, the problem of back acceleration of secondary electrons liberated from the neutron production target by deuterium ions bombardment was encountered. In this study,an electric field method and a magnetic field method for suppressing secondary electrons are designed and experimentally investigated. The experimental results show that the electric field method is superior to the magnetic field method. Effective suppression of the secondary electrons can be achieved via electrostatic suppression when the bias voltage between the target and the extraction-accelerating electrode is >204 V. Furthermore, the secondary electron emission coefficient for the mixed deuterium ion(D_1^+,D_2^+, and D_3^+) impacting on molybdenum is estimated. In the deuterium energy range of 80–120 keV, the estimated secondary electron emission coefficients are approximately 5–5.5 for the mixed deuterium ion glancing incidence of 45° and approximately 3.5–3.9 for the mixed deuterium ion normal incidence.

Effects of secondary electron emission on plasma characteristics in dual-frequency atmospheric pressure helium discharge by fluid modeling

A one-dimensional(1D) fluid simulation of dual frequency discharge in helium gas at atmospheric pressure is carried out to investigate the role of the secondary electron emission on the surfaces of the electrodes. In the simulation, electrons,ions of He^+ and He_2^+, metastable atoms of He*and metastable molecules of He*_2 are included. It is found that the secondary electron emission coefficient significantly influences plasma density and electric field as well as electron heating mechanisms and ionization rate. The particle densities increase with increasing SEE coefficient from 0 to 0.3 as well as the sheath's electric field and electron source. Moreover, the SEE coefficient also influences the electron heating mechanism and electron power dissipation in the plasma and both of them increase with increasing SEE coefficient within the range from 0 to 0.3 as a result of increasing of electron density.

Characteristics of wall sheath and secondary electron emission under different electron temperatures in a Hall thruster

In this paper, a two-dimensional physical model is established in a Hall thruster sheath region to investigate the influences of the electron temperature and the propellant on the sheath potential drop and the secondary electron emission in the Hall thruster, by the particle-in-cell （PIC） method. The numerical results show that when the electron temperature is relatively low, the change of sheath potential drop is relatively large, the surface potential maintains a stable value and the stability of the sheath is good. When the electron temperature is relatively high, the surface potential maintains a persistent oscillation, and the stability of the sheath reduces. As the electron temperature increases, the secondary electron emission coefficient on the wall increases. For three kinds of propellants （At, Kr, and Xe）, as the ion mass increases the sheath potentials and the secondary electron emission coefficients reduce in sequence.

On characteristics of sheath damping near a dielectric wall with secondary electron emission

A preliminary investigation is conducted to study the characteristics of sheath damping near a dielectric wall with secondary electron emission （SEE）. Making use of the linear analysis of the sheath stability, we have found two major contributions to the sheath damping, one similar to the Landau damping in uniform plasmas and another determined by local electric field and electron density of the steady-state sheath. It indicates that in a classical sheath regime the damping in the sheath region monotonically increases towards the wall and decreases with the enhancement of SEE effect. In order to verify the theoretical analysis, sheath oscillation processes induced by an initial disturbance are simulated with a time-dependent one-dimensional （1D） sheath model. Numerical results obtained are consistent with the theoretical analysis qualitatively.

Applications of Secondary Electron Composition Contrast Imaging Method in Microstructure Studies on Heterojunction Semiconductor Devices and Multilayer Materials

The principle, imaging condition and experimental method for obtaining high resolution composition contrast in secondary electron image were described. A new technique of specimen preparation for secondary electron composition contrast observation was introduced and discussed. By using multilayer P+Si1-xGex/pSi heterojunction internal photoemission infrared detector as an example, the applications of secondary electron composition contrast imaging in microstructure studies on heterojunction semiconducting materials and devices were stated. The characteristics of the image were compared with the ordinary transmission electron diffraction contrast image. The prospects of applications of the imaging method in heterojunction semiconductor devices and multilayer materials are also discussed.

MONTE CARLO SIMULATION OF SPIN-POLARIZED SECONDARY ELECTRONS FROM IRON

A Monte Carlo model considering the electron spin direction and spin asymmetry h as been developed. The energy distribution of the secondary electron polarizatio n and the primary energy dependence of the polarization from Fe are studied. The simulation results show that: (1) the intensity of the spin-up secondary electr ons is larger thanvthat of thevspin-down secondary electrons, suggesting the s econdary electrons are spin polarized; (2) the spin polarization of secondary el ectrons with nearly zero kinetic energy is higher than the average valance spin polarization, Pb=27% for Fe. With increasing kinetic energy, the spin polarizat ion of the secondary electrons decreases to the value of Pb, remaining constant at higher kinetic energies; (3) the spin polarization increases with an increase in the primary energy and reaches a saturation value at higher primary energy i n both the Monte Carlo simulation and experimental results.

Durability experiment on anti-electron-bombardment of RE_2O_3-Mo secondary emission material

A durability test to determine anti-bombardment sensitivity of multi-RE2O3-Mo secondary emission material was carried out and the variation of maximum secondary emission coefficient （δ）max)) was monitored at regular intervals. After the experiment, the cathode was analyzed with SEM, EDS and XRD techniques. The results show that δ)max) of multi-RE2O3-Mo cermets cathode heated to 1 100 ℃ under electron bombardment of 300 W/cm2 reaches the peak of 3.35 at 200 h. After 500 h of bombardment, the maximum secondary-electron-yield curve stabilizes. The δ)max) value of the cathode remains at about 2.5 after 1 000 h and represents a good anti-bombardment property. The high δ)max) value of the cathode is related with formation of an enriched Y2O3 layer on the surface under high temperature and with the amount of La2O3 particles in the shape of nanometer distributed on the surface. Under the experimental conditions, the drop of δ)max) value may be caused by the reduction of La2O3 content and the porous layer resulted from evaporation of MoO2, which is formed when Mo at the surface is oxidized.

Sheath structure in plasma with two species of positive ions and secondary electrons

The properties of a collisionless plasma sheath are investigated by using a fluid model in which two species of positive ions and secondary electrons are taken into account. It is shown that the positive ion speeds at the sheath edge increase with secondary electron emission（SEE） coefficient, and the sheath structure is affected by the interplay between the two species of positive ions and secondary electrons. The critical SEE coefficients and the sheath widths depend strongly on the positive ion charge number, mass and concentration in the cases with and without SEE. In addition, ion kinetic energy flux to the wall and the impact of positive ion species on secondary electron density at the sheath edge are also discussed.

Plasma Wall Potentials with Secondary Electron Emissions up to the Stable Space-Charge-Limited Condition

Numerical solutions to floating plasma potentials for walls emitting secondary elec- trons are obtained for various surface materials. The calculations are made with plasma moment equations and the secondary electron emission coefficients, which were determined from recent laboratory experiments. The results estimate the wall potentials up to the physical conditions that allow stable plasma sheaths under the space-charge-limited condition. The materials often used in the laboratory, such as aluminum, silicon, boron, molybdenum, silicon dioxide, and alumina, are considered. The minimum wall potential before the onset of space-charge-limited emission is determined by the electron temperatures at which the effective secondary electron emission coefficient integrated over the velocity distributions is about 0.62. The corresponding potential is given by -eφ0 ,- 1.87kBT. The condition for space-charge-limited emission is newly found by numerically searching for all the stable sheaths. The new condition is -eφ0 - 0.95kBT, and this predicts a wall potential that is less negative than the previously found one. Calculation of the power dissipated to the wall for hydrogen plasmas shows that there is a large difference in terms of power dissipation among the considered materials in the temperature range 20-50 eV.

Effect of Secondary Electron Emission on the Sheath in SPT Chamber

A one-dimensional slab model of the plasma sheath in the stationary plasma thruster （SPT） chamber is developed in this study. It is considered that secondary electrons emitted from ceramic walls are partially trapped by the bulk plasma in the SPT chamber; some secondary electrons drift across the sheath where they are generated and the bulk and move towards the opposite sheath. Thus both the secondary electron emission （SEE） from one sheath and the partially trapped secondary electrons from the opposite sheath contribute to this sheath. The results indicate that both the SEE coefficient and trapping coefficient have a significant impact not only on the distributions of both electrons and ions of the SPT sheath but also on the energy flux loss to the SPT wall. When the trapping coefficient increases, the energy flux of electrons deposited to the walls will increase whereas that of ions will decrease. Besides, the critical electron temperature will decrease greatly with the increase of the trapping coefficient.

The charging stability of different silica glasses studied by measuring the secondary electron emission yield

This paper reports that the charging properties of lead silica, Suprasil silica and Infrasil silica are investigated by measuring the secondary electron emission （SEE） yield. At a primary electron beam energy of 25 keV, the intrinsic SEE yields measured at very low injection dose are 0.54, 0.29 and 0.35, respectively for lead silica, Suprasil and Infrasil silica glass. During the first e-beam irradiation at a high injection current density, the SEE yields of lead silica and Suprasil increase continuously and slowly from their initial values to a steady state. At the steady state, the SEE yields of lead silica and Suprasil are 0.94 and 0.93, respectively. In Infrasil, several charging and discharging processes are observed during the experiment. This shows that Infrasil does not reach its steady state. Two hours later, all samples are irradiated again in the same place as the first irradiation at a low current density and low dose. The SEE yields of lead silica, Suprasil and Infrasil are 0.69, 0.76 and 0.55, respectively. Twenty hours later, the values are 0.62, 0.64 and 0.33, respectively, for lead silica, Suprasil and Infrasil. These results show that Infrasil has poor charging stability. Comparatively, the charging stability of lead silica is better, and Suprasil has the best characteristics.