The determination of electron energy distributions at low energy

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Secondary electron energy distributions from most materials contain a great deal of fine structure, including Auger transitions, in the range 0–200 eV. Especially in the case of retarding field energy analyzers, these relatively small peaks are superimposed on a large smoothly varying background signal with the result that quantitative measurement of peak heights is especially difficult. A method for minimizing the undesirable background signal is described; it utilizes appropriate programing of the ac modulation of the retarding potential, VacαEm sinωt. This technique results in improved energy resolution of retarding field analyzers at low electron energies where, in general, resolution is more critical than sensitivity. The detection of fine structure which would normally be lost if a constant modulation signal were employed as in the conventional procedure is demonstrated.