Monte Carlo simulation of secondary electron emission from amorphous carbon-coated copper surface with rectangular grooves

A review is presented of more than 20 years of research conducted at NASA Lewis Research Center on the suppression of secondary electron emission (SEE) for the enhancement of the efficiency of vacuum electron devices with multistage depressed collectors. This paper includes a description of measurement techniques, data from measurements of SEE on a variety of materials of engineering interest and methods of surface treatment for the suppression of SEE. In the course of this work the lowest secondary electron yield ever reported was achieved for ion textured graphite, and, in a parallel line of research, the highest yield was obtained for chemical vapor deposited thin diamond films.

Suppression of secondary electron emission of oxygen free copper by two-step electrodeposition of rGO/Cu composite coating

Secondary electron (SE) emission (SEE) from material surfaces is a frequent phenomenon in space and vacuum environments. SEE modulation is important since it governs the performance of some devices such as electronic multipliers or induces some detrimental effects such as multipactors. Surface coating has been reported to modulate SEE effectively, whereas SEE behaviors of coating structures are not clearly understood yet, and the appropriate theory to describe SEE characteristics quantitatively for coating structures is less developed so far. Here, we have prepared four alumina coatings possessing various thicknesses to research the SEE characteristics of coating structures and have shown how the coating thickness affects the SEE behaviors. Besides, by considering coating/substrate as an ideal double-layer structure, we have derived several equations to describe the producing, transmitting, and escaping processes of excited inner SEs and finally constructed a unidimensional SEE model for double-layer structures. The model is applicable to reveal the dependence of true SE yield (TSEY) on the top and bottom layers’ physical properties and estimate TSEY proportions contributed by the top and bottom layers at random energy points. By employing the concept, SEE characteristics of Al2O3/Si, MgO/Si, and TiO2/Si double-layer structures have been quantitatively interpreted. Moreover, the abnormal SEY curve with a double-hump shape, which is induced by the peak position distinction of SiO2/Si structures, can also be explained. This work is of great significance to comprehend TSEY modulating regularities of various double-layer structures applied in surface engineering.

Summary form only given. Secondary electron emission (SEE) can potentially lead to beam instabilities, material degradation and r.f. breakdown. The past SEE studies have deduced secondary electron yield by invoking a conservation of charge without the need to experimentally account for all measurables. In the spatial distribution studies of SEE, one may not invoke conservation of charge without some knowledge leading to wall loss effects. An electron gun in the SEE test stand at UNLV directs the primary electron beam through a beam drift tube piercing the center of a particle position detector with controlling grid towards the sample under test. Secondary electrons emitted by the sample either drift freely or are drawn by a grid potential to the particle position detector. The location and number of electrons impinging on the detector records the number of electrons and the locations of electron impact. Low primary beam currents are necessary in order to perform these measurements within the resolution of the detector. Because the detector surface is flat and finite in dimension, some loss to the chamber walls will result. Consequential SEE loss to the walls is not measurable in a noise environment even if the experimental apparatus (the SEE test stand) is isolated from the earth ground. To monitor the primary beam current, a C shaped ferromagnetic core coil fitted to the beam drift tube was designed to divert the primary beam to the beam drift tube for measurement with minimal SEE loss from the tube. Assuming successive shots are similar, the total number of incident charge can be deduced statistically. The coil current is then changed to partially null the Earth's magnetic field when experiments are performed. Beam drift tube, grid, and sample currents are monitored and integrated to yield the number of charges collected by each component over time. Along with time resolved, spatially distributed, SEE count from the detector, wall loss may be deduced by invoking conservation of charge. Spatial distributions of secondary electron yield and secondary' electron emission wall loss counts will be reported. Such distributions offer insights in determining the initial conditions on the emitted secondary electrons.

Secondary electron yields of (110) copper surfaces, covered with either carbon, nitrogen, or their dioxides, have been studied by employing combined first principles methods for the material properties and Monte Carlo simulations for electron transport. Furthermore, by studying electron transport inside the Cu system and modeling the power loss taking account of the inelastic electron scattering within the material, changes in the thermal energy of the system have been modeled. The physical reasons behind the increase and decrease of the yield for each system from an electronic perspective are discussed. In agreement with results observed in studies of secondary electron emission, it is shown that the formation of C2 and N2 monolayers reduce the secondary electron yields, while CO2 and NO2 increase the yield significantly. It is demonstrated that in the case of C2 and N2 formation, changes in the surface electronic barrier reduce the probability of electron escape from the Cu surface, resulting in lower secondary electron emission. Formation of CO2 and NO2, on the other hand, reduce the electronic barrier effects. In addition, due to weak bonding of the CO2 layer with the Cu host, the surface provides an additional source of secondary electrons resulting in higher electronic emission yield. Moreover, the NO2 adsorbate creates a surface electric field that changes the surface electron energy and increases the electron escape probability. Additionally, it is verified that thermal change in the system is negligible and so during secondary electron emission measurements, negligible (if any) surface adsorption or desorption could occur.

We provide a detailed description of a model and its computational algorithm for the secondary electron emission process. The model is based on a broad phenomenological fit to data for the secondary emission yield (SEY) and the emitted-energy spectrum. We provide two sets of values for the parameters by fitting our model to two particular data sets, one for copper and the other one for stainless steel. We also present details of the electron-cloud simulation code POSINST that are relevant to the secondary emission process. This note expands on our previously published article.

Secondary electron emission (SEE), a common physical phenomenon, exhibits both prominent applications in various fields and concomitant adverse impacts. Secondary electron yield (SEY) is a parameter for characterizing SEE, which determines the effect of the application and is very sensitive to the surroundings, particularly the magnetic field. Previous studies mainly focused on the influence of the magnetic field on secondary electron trajectories rather than the SEY itself. In this work, a specialized experimental platform was established to measure SEY, through which the influences caused by primary electrons and secondary electron trajectories were eliminated. The research findings demonstrate that as the magnetic field intensity increases, the SEY decreases rapidly and then gradually stabilizes. Meanwhile, a self-developed Monte Carlo simulation program was utilized to verify the above results, and it was concluded that the influence of magnetic field on SEY stems from the increased number of collisions of secondary electrons within the material. These results possess significant guiding significance and reference value for certain application scenarios where SEY suppression is required as well as for the design of multiplier devices aiming to enhance the output by utilizing magnetic fields.

Fast and slow decay of ion beam induced electron emission in boron doped hydrogenated CVD diamond films

Secondary electron emission is developed as a means to quantify and image protein binding to Au surfaces modified with patterned organic thin-film arrays. Alkane thiols were patterned via microcontact printing on gold, and their effects on the secondary electron (SE) yield of the surface, systematically quantified. We show that a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of hexadecane thiol significantly increases the SE yield over the native gold surface, a yield that increases as a function of alkane chain length (C8-C16). This effect is linearly correlated with the surface potentials and wetting properties of these SAMs. Surface layers comprised of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) grafted polyacrylamide polymers behave differently, affecting the SE yield by attenuation according to the polymer thickness. These results demonstrate the relative contributions of factors related to the adsorbate molecular structures that serve to strongly mediate the SE yield, providing a foundation for exploiting them as a quantitative electron imaging probe. The latter capability is demonstrated using a model microfluidic assay in which a series of proteins was spatially addressed to a SAM-based pixel array. The gray scale contrasts seen with protein adsorption are directly correlated with both protein molecular weight and mass coverage. These methods are used in two model protein assay experiments: (1) the measurement of the concentration dependent adsorption isotherm for a model protein (fibrinogen); and (2) the selective recognition of a biotinylated protein layer by avidin. These results demonstrate a unique approach to imaging protein binding processes on surfaces with both high analytical and spatial sensitivity.

Monte Carlo simulation of secondary electron emission from plasma facing materials

The development of an electron cloud in the vacuum chambers of high intensity positron and proton storage rings may limit machine performance. The suppression of electrons in a magnet is a challenge for the positron damping ring of the International Linear Collider (ILC) as well as the Large Hadron Collider. Simulation show that grooved surfaces can significantly reduce the electron yield in a magnet. Some of the secondary electrons emitted from the grooved surface return to the surface within a few gyrations, resulting in a low effective secondary electron yield (SEY) of below 1.0 A triangular surface is an effective, technologically attractive mitigation with a low SEY and a weak dependence on the scale of the corrugations and the external magnetic field. A chamber with triangular grooved surface is proposed for the dipole and wiggler sections of the ILC and will be tested in KEKB in 2007. The strategy of electron cloud control in ILC and the optimization of the grooved chamber such as the SEY, impedance as well as the manufacturing of the chamber, are also discussed.

The charging process of insulator surfaces in vacuum at HV due to secondary electron emission has been calculated using numerical simulation. The systems considered consist of two electrodes at a HV difference, separated by a glass plate or a hollow glass channel. The simulations give insight into the critical HV positions and into the influence of the geometry, the initial voltage distribution and the material properties on the charging profiles and the leakage current paths. A HV performance increase of these systems can be obtained by decreasing the impact of free electrons, adding a coating on all insulating surfaces which have a high value of E/sub 1/ (i.e. the first crossover point of the secondary electron yield curve) and/or are weakly conductive, and breaking up the total voltage difference in smaller parts by adding electrodes to all surfaces at intermediate voltages.

Based on primary range [Formula: see text], relationships among parameters of secondary electron yield [Formula: see text] and the processes and characteristics of secondary electron emission (SEE) from negative electron affinity (NEA) semiconductors, the universal formulas for [Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text] and at [Formula: see text] for NEA semiconductors were deduced, respectively; where [Formula: see text] is incident energy of primary electron. According to the characteristics of SEE from NEA semiconductors with [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], deduced universal formulas for [Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text] and at [Formula: see text] for NEA semiconductors and experimental data, special formulas for [Formula: see text] at 0.5[Formula: see text] of several NEA semiconductors with [Formula: see text] were deduced and proved to be true experimentally, respectively; where [Formula: see text] is the [Formula: see text] at which [Formula: see text] reaches maximum secondary electron yield. It can be concluded that the formula for [Formula: see text] of NEA semiconductors with [Formula: see text] was deduced and could be used to calculate [Formula: see text], and that the method of calculating the 1/[Formula: see text] of NEA semiconductors with [Formula: see text] is plausible; where [Formula: see text] is the probability that an internal secondary electron escapes into vacuum upon reaching the surface of emitter, and 1/[Formula: see text] is mean escape depth of secondary electron.

Effect of structure on the secondary electron emission of tetrahedral amorphous carbon films

Diamond-based photomultipliers have the potential to provide a significant improvement over existing devices due to diamond's high secondary electron yield and narrow energy distribution of secondary electrons which improves energy resolution creating extremely fast response times. In this paper we describe an experimental apparatus designed to study secondary electron emission from diamond membranes only 400 nm thick, observed in reflection and transmission configurations. The setup consists of a system of calibrated P22 green phosphor screens acting as radiation converters which are used in combination with photomultiplier tubes to acquire secondary emission yield data from the diamond samples. The superior signal voltage sampling of the phosphor screen setup compared with traditional Faraday Cup detection allows the variation in the secondary electron yield across the sample to be visualised, allowing spatial distributions to be obtained. Preliminary reflection and transmission yield data are presented as a function of primary electron energy for selected CVD diamond films and membranes. Reflection data were also obtained from the same sample set using a Faraday Cup detector setup. In general, the curves for secondary electron yield versus primary energy for both measurement setups were comparable. On average a 15–20% lower signal was recorded on our setup compared to the Faraday Cup, which was attributed to the lower photoluminescent efficiency of the P22 phosphor screens when operated at sub-kilovolt bias voltages.