Berlin 2005 – scientific programme
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O: Oberflächenphysik
O 42: Oberfl
ächenreaktionen II
O 42.4: Talk
Tuesday, March 8, 2005, 11:30–11:45, TU EB407
Kinetic electron excitation in atomic collision cascades — •Stefan Meyer1, Detlef Diesing2, and Andreas Wucher1 — 1Institut für experimentelle Physik, Universität Duisburg- Essen, 45117 Essen — 2Institut für Schichten und Grenzflächen 3, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich
In atomic collision cascades, initiated by the impact of a fast particle onto a solid surface, a part of the deposited energy is transferred into the electronic system and leads to the creation of hot electrons. Recently we have shown [1] that Metal- Insulator- Metal (MIM) tunnel junctions are an appropriate tool to investigate low energy electron excitation. Electrons which are excited by particle bombardment in the top electrode of the junction travel elastically within their mean free path to the insulator interface and tunnel to the base electrode where they are detected as a tunnel current. By applying a dc- voltage across the junction, it is possible to compare the energy distribution of excited electrons caused by collision reactions with different kinetic energies. Comparative collision experiments with neutral atoms will distinguish which part of the energy transferred into the substrate is due to potential energy effects.
[1] S. Meyer, D. Diesing, A. Wucher, Physical Review Letters 93 (2004) 137601