Publications in Scientific Journals:
J. Schwestka, A. Niggas, S. Creutzburg, R. Kozubek, R. Heller, M. Schleberger, R. Wilhelm, F. Aumayr:
"Charge-exchange-driven low-energy electron splash induced by heavy ion impact on condensed matter";
Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters,
10
(2019),
4805
- 4811.
English abstract:
Low-energy electrons (LEEs) are of great relevance for ion-induced
radiation damage in cells and genes. We show that charge exchange of ions leads to LEE
emission upon impact on condensed matter. By using a graphene monolayer as a simple
model system for condensed organic matter and utilizing slow highly charged ions (HCIs)
as projectiles, we highlight the importance of charge exchange alone for LEE emission. We
find a large number of ejected electrons resulting from individual ion impacts (up to 80
electrons/ion for Xe40+). More than 90% of emitted electrons have energies well below 15
eV. This "splash" of low-energy electrons is interpreted as the consequence of ion
deexcitation via an interatomic Coulombic decay (ICD) process.
"Official" electronic version of the publication (accessed through its Digital Object Identifier - DOI)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.9b01774