Reinterpretation of electron-stimulated desorption data from chemisorption systems

Abstract

A review of the electron-stimulated-desorption (ESD) literature shows that many of the features of ESD that are difficult to rationalize within the model of Menzel, Gomer, and Redhead can easily be interpreted using the Auger decay model, which has recently been developed to explain ESD from transition-metal oxide surfaces. Specifically, the Auger model helps to explain the charge state of the desorbing species, the high-energy (\ensuremath{\sim} 30-40 eV) onset behavior that is seen, the differences in thresholds for positive and neutral desorbates, ESD cross-section and isotope-effect data, and the high kinetic energies of desorbing particles. The success of the Auger picture for ionically bonded surfaces suggests a number of new applications of ESD, including the deduction of reaction paths in surface chemistry and the study of the evolution of surface oxides.