A new method of measuring electron emission induced by low energy ions from solids

A newly developed experimental system for measurements of electron emission induced by low energy ions at below low ion flux (105 ions s−1 cm−2) avoiding the fast emission degradation caused by high ion fluxes (usually applied 1010–1013 ions s−1 cm−2) has been established. The method, based on an event-by-event recording of the emitted cluster of electrons for each impinging ion event, overcomes the difficulty of measurement of reliable ion-induced secondary electron emission (IIEE) yield, associated with fast degradation of the electron yield. This method provides not only the average number (γ) of IIEE under a given ionic impact, but actually higher moments of their distribution, which contains more information on the physical processes involved in the IIEE phenomenon. The secondary electron emission coefficients showed a dependence on the kinetic energy of incident argon ions and protons ranging from 1 keV to 10 keV on hydrogenated diamond film surfaces