Study of temperature effects on the conduction and trapping of charges in the alkali-silicate glass under electron beam irradiation

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is employed to investigate the temperature effect on the charging behaviour of alkali-silicate glasses under electron beam irradiation using electrostatic influence method (EIM). A modified special arrangement adapted to the SEM allows to study charging mechanisms and charge transport characteristics of these glasses using the simultaneous measurement of displacement and leakage currents. The trapping process during continuous electron irradiation can be directly determined by the EIM. The experimental results reveal that the charging ability of glasses decreases with increasing temperature. The variation of charge process has been confirmed by measuring the surface potential in response to the sample temperature. In this report, we introduce also the secondary electron emission (SEE) yield. It was found the strong dependence of the SEE yield on the temperature variation. The higher is the temperature and the lower is the SEE yield. The trapping ability is analyzed taking into account the regulation mechanisms involved under electron irradiation.