Interaction Time Dependence of Electron Tunneling Processes between an Atom and a Surface

Abstract

Results of a study of electron transfer processes in the interaction of fluorine and hydrogen with Ag(111) are reported for a wide range of interaction times. For long interaction times the yield of ${\mathrm{H}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, resulting from resonant electron exchange, is larger than expected for a jelliumlike metal surface with a similar work function. For short interaction times, the yields follow the trend for jelliumlike surfaces. These results confirm the predictions of the theoretical work [Borisov et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 1996 (1998)] on electron transfer on surfaces with an $L$ band gap. In the case of ${\mathrm{F}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, significant effects were, however, not observed.