Physisorption of an electron in deep surface potentials off a dielectric surface

Journal Article · Sun May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVB.83.195407· OSTI ID:21544770

Heinisch, R L; Bronold, F X; Fehske, H ^[1]

---

1. Institut fuer Physik, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universitaet Greifswald, DE-17489 Greifswald (Germany)

We study phonon-mediated adsorption and desorption of an electron at dielectric surfaces with deep polarization-induced surface potentials where multiphonon transitions are responsible for electron energy relaxation. Focusing on multiphonon processes due to the nonlinearity of the coupling between the external electron and the acoustic bulk phonon triggering the transitions between surface states, we calculate electron desorption times for graphite, MgO, CaO, Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, and SiO{sub 2} and electron sticking coefficients for Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, CaO, and SiO{sub 2}. To reveal the kinetic stages of electron physisorption, we moreover study the time evolution of the image-state occupancy and the energy-resolved desorption flux. Depending on the potential depth and the surface temperature, we identify two generic scenarios: (i) adsorption via trapping in shallow image states followed by relaxation to the lowest image state and desorption from that state via a cascade through the second strongly bound image state in not too deep potentials, and (ii) adsorption via trapping in shallow image states but followed by a relaxation bottleneck retarding the transition to the lowest image state and desorption from that state via a one-step process to the continuum in deep potentials.

• OSTI ID: 21544770
• Journal Information: Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Vol. 83, Issue 19; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.83.195407; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 1098-0121
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ADSORPTION
ALUMINIUM OXIDES
CALCIUM OXIDES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COUPLING
DESORPTION
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
ELECTRONS
EVOLUTION
GRAPHITE
MAGNESIUM OXIDES
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
PHONONS
POLARIZATION
RELAXATION
SILICON OXIDES
SURFACE POTENTIAL
SURFACES
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CARBON
CHALCOGENIDES
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
FERMIONS
LEPTONS
MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS
MATERIALS
MINERALS
NONMETALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POTENTIALS
QUASI PARTICLES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SIMULATION
SORPTION