The secondary electron emission yield for 24 solid elements excited by primary electrons in the range 250-5000 ev: a theory/experiment comparison

The secondary electron (SE) yield, δ, was measured from 24 different elements at low primary beam energy (250–5,000 eV). Surface contamination affects the intensity of δ but not its variation with primary electron energy. The experiments suggest that the mean free path of SEs varies across the d bands of transition metals in agreement with theory. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that surface plasmons may need to be included for improved agreement with experiment. SCANNING 30:365–380, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.