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Auger electron emission initiated by the creation of valence-band holes in graphene by positron annihilation

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms16116· OSTI ID:1466809
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [3];  [2];  [5];  [3];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX (United States); Univ. of Texas, Arlington (United States)
  2. Univ. Antwerpen, Antwerpen (Belgium)
  3. Univ. of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX (United States)
  4. Univ. of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX (United States); R. V. College of Engineering, Bangalore (India)
  5. Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Auger processes involving the filling of holes in the valence band are thought to make important contributions to the low-energy photoelectron and secondary electron spectrum from many solids. However, measurements of the energy spectrum and the efficiency with which electrons are emitted in this process remain elusive due to a large unrelated background resulting from primary beam-induced secondary electrons. Here, we report the direct measurement of the energy spectra of electrons emitted from single layer graphene as a result of the decay of deep holes in the valence band. These measurements were made possible by eliminating competing backgrounds by employing low-energy positrons (<1.25 eV) to create valence-band holes by annihilation. Lastly, our experimental results, supported by theoretical calculations, indicate that between 80 and 100% of the deep valence-band holes in graphene are filled via an Auger transition.
Research Organization:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Complex Materials from First Principles (CCM); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for the Computational Design of Functional Layered Materials (CCDM); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center; Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; FG02-07ER46352; SC0012575
OSTI ID:
1466809
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1489376
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Vol. 8; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (8)

Electromagnetic Field in Hybrid Quantum Plasmonic-Photonic Systems journal April 2018
Coincident measurement of the energy spectra of Doppler-shifted annihilation gamma quanta and positron-induced secondary electrons
  • Gladen, R. W.; Chirayath, V. A.; Fairchild, A. J.
  • INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE AND APPLIED SCIENCE (ICSAS) 2019, AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5135838
conference January 2019
Application of Doppler broadened gamma spectroscopy to study the surface of graphene
  • Weiss, A. H.; Chirayath, V. A.; Gladen, R. W.
  • INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE AND APPLIED SCIENCE (ICSAS) 2019, AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5135844
conference January 2019
Positron induced electron emission from graphite
  • Fairchild, A. J.; Chirayath, V. A.; Gladen, R. W.
  • INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SCIENCE AND APPLIED SCIENCE (ICSAS) 2019, AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5135846
conference January 2019
Application of the weighted-density approximation to the accurate description of electron-positron correlation effects in materials journal August 2017
Positron-Induced Luminescence journal April 2018
Ultrafast Hyperspectral Transient Absorption Spectroscopy: Application to Single Layer Graphene journal August 2019
Application of Doppler Broadened Gamma Spectroscopy to Study the Surface of Graphene text January 2019

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