ELECTRONIC EXCITATIONS PRODUCED BY DEEP-LEVEL PROMOTION DURING ATOMIC-COLLISIONS IN SOLIDS

Expressions have been derived for electron-energy distributions of electrons excited in solids by one-electron core-level promotion processes during low-energy ion bombardment. Excitation occurs either due to the well-known autoionization of a promoted level or due to the excitation of electrons from occupied conduction-band states by a process indirectly mediated by core-level promotion. These expressions have been applied to evaluate electron-energy spectra of bombarded Al metal. As an example, two Al atoms in Al metal that collide with a kinetic energy of 1000 eV give rise to a one-electron energy spectrum which extends beyond the 2p Auger peak energy (54 eV) and which can be described approximately by an exponential dependence exp(-/10). © 1995 The American Physical Society.