Exciton autoionization in ion-induced electron emission

Nonadiabatic dynamics in energetic negative fluorine ions scattering from a Si(100) surface

The dependence of the negative-ion fractions on incident energy and angle is reported for 8.5-22.5 keV F(-) ions scattered from a Si(100) surface at a fixed scattering angle of 38°. The negative-ion fraction increases monotonically with incident velocity for specular scattering. In particular, the variation of the fraction with incident angle is bell shaped for a given incident energy. We interpret this variation using the incident-velocity effect at short distances where the yield of negative ions depends on the number of initial neutrals. It strongly indicates that at short distances, a dynamical equilibrium population is never achieved. This nonadiabatic feature is supported by simple calculations using modified rate equations.

Localized description of surface energy gap effects in the resonant charge exchange between atoms and surfaces

The resonant charge exchange between atoms and surfaces is described by considering a localized atomistic view of the solid within the Anderson model. The presence of a surface energy gap is treated within a simplified tight-binding model of the solid, and a proper calculation of the Hamiltonian terms based on a LCAO expansion of the solid eigenstates is performed. It is found that interference terms jointly with a surface projected gap maximum at the Γ point and the Fermi level inside it, lead to hybridization widths negligible around the Fermi level. This result can explain experimental observations related to long-lived adsorbate states and anomalous neutral fractions of low energy ions in alkali/Cu(111) systems.