Theory of Secondary Electron Emission. I. General Theory for Nearly‐Free‐Electron Metals

Abstract

Abstract A detailed theory of secondary electron emission (SEE) for nearly‐free‐electron (NFE) metals is developed. The creation of secondary electrons (SE) by primary electron (PE) collisions with metal electrons in core states and in the Fermi sphere is considered. Especially a calculation is given of SE production by plasmon decay on the basis of a general model potential. Both, elastic and inelastic collisions of internal secondaries are taken into account. Primary energies are limited to 1 to 2 keV. General formulas regarding excitation functions, mean free paths, and scattering functions, necessary for the computation of the energy angular distribution of SE and secondary yield, are derived.