Role of surface structure in photoelectron emission from solid Ne: Impurities, defect, and low-coordinated sites

Abstract

Electron emission was obtained from a solid Ne sample grown from the gas phase on a low temperature substrate. The surface of the sample was irradiated by the light of a microwave discharge in gaseous Ne, which caused electron emission from the sample. A jet of a second gas, D2, was simultaneously passed onto the substrate avoiding the discharge zone. Free electrons ejected into a vacuum chamber during sample growth were detected by means of electron cyclotron resonance. Emission shows nonmonotonic dependence on the concentration of the impurity D2. At low concentrations the electron yield is found to increase significantly with increasing flow rate of the dopant, while at moderate concentrations the yield tends to decrease with increasing flow rate. A tentative explanation of the observed effect is presented. It is based on the exceptional properties, which the neon-hydrogen solid mixture is believed to have.