Experimental research on influence of gas adsorption on secondary electron emission of copper surface

Secondary electron (SE) emission is a superficial physical phenomenon. The range of SEs excited in materials which are finally emitted from the surface is generally within a few tens of nanometers. SE emission from materials by electron irradiation has great dependence on surface quality, such as gas adsorption, oxidation, contamination, and morphology. In this paper, the influence of surface adsorption of N₂, O₂, Ar and air on SE yield (SEY) and the SE spectrum (SES) of copper was investigated by experiment. The measured SEY and SES were compared before and after the copper surface was sputtered by Ar ions. The results show that gas adsorption could increase SEY, and air adsorption lead to the maximum increase, Ar adsorption the minimum. Meanwhile, the relationship between the SES and the SEY was deduced and validated by the experiment. It was also found in the experiment that the Ar ion sputtering or heating alone can effectively reduce the SEY, while heating the sample after Ar ion sputtering increases SEY. The reasons for the variation of the SEYs with gas adsorption, sputtering and heating are preliminarily explained with the help of in-situ XPS. Accordingly, the research helps to further reveal the mechanism of SEE influenced by complex superficial factors.