Abstract
Electron irradiation may change the surface composition of solids by electron stimulated processes. In the present work the effect of 1 keV electron irradiation on the near surface composition of sapphire was studied. The use of the whole range of the electron spectrum produced by 1 keV primary electrons has provided a detailed picture of the variation with depth and electron dose of the surface and near surface of electron irradiated α- Al 2 O 3(1000). Electron irradiation doses were in the range of 0.7 C/cm 2 to 26 C/cm 2. After a dose of about 1 C/cm 2 sufficiently large clusters of aluminum were produced to allow the generation of the Al(LVV) 67 eV Auger peak, while after about 8 C/cm 2 the collective excitation surface and bulk plasmons were generated. An equilibrium in the composition of the first nanometer depth of the surface is reached after a dose of about 6 C/cm 2, with ∼ 50% of the aluminum in alumina being reduced to the metallic form. After a dose of about 13 C/cm 2, the composition of the first 2 nm reaches equilibrium, while deeper alumina continues to be reduced.
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