Photoemission from small metal spheres: A model calculation using an enhanced three-step model

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Abstract
A calculation of photoelectron emission from small particles in the photon energy range from threshold to 11 eV is presented. The calculation is based on a three-step model accounting for the spherical geometry. It explains the anomalous shape of the yield curve observed in previous experiments on 5-nm Ag particles. This size effect is understood to be solely due to the escape function being much different from the planar case. Geometrical arguments do not fully explain the yield enhancement observed for small Ag particles in previous work.