Charge-Exchange-Driven Low-Energy Electron Splash Induced by Heavy Ion Impact on Condensed Matter
Charge-Exchange-Driven Low-Energy Electron Splash Induced by Heavy Ion Impact on Condensed Matter
Schwestka, J.; Niggas, A.; Creutzburg, S.; Kozubek, R.; Heller, R.; Schleberger, M.; Wilhelm, R. A.; Aumayr, F.
Abstract
Low-energy electrons (LEEs) are of great relevance for ion-induced radiation damage in cells and genes. We show that charge exchange of ions leads to LEE emission upon impact on condensed matter. By using a graphene monolayer as a simple model system for condensed organic matter and utilizing slow highly charged ions (HCIs) as projectiles, we highlight the importance of charge exchange alone for LEE emission. We find a large number of ejected electrons resulting from individual ion impacts (up to 80 electrons/ion for Xe40+). More than 90% of emitted electrons have energies well below 15 eV. This “splash” of low-energy electrons is interpreted as the consequence of ion deexcitation via an interatomic Coulombic decay (ICD) process.
Involved research facilities
- Ion Beam Center DOI: 10.17815/jlsrf-3-159
Related publications
- DOI: 10.17815/jlsrf-3-159 is cited by this (Id 29666) publication
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The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 2019(2019)10, 4805-4811
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.9b01774
Cited 21 times in Scopus
Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-29666