Electron induced surface chemistry at the Cs/sapphire interface
- Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-0333 (United States)
- AEA Technology, TOPAZ International Program, 901 University Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106-4439 (United States)
Electron induced etching of sapphire in the presence of Cs has been studied using a variety of surface analytical techniques. We find that this process occurs on both the (0001) and (1{bar 1}02) orientations of sapphire. Monolayer amounts of Al and sub-oxides of Al are thermally desorbed from the surface at temperatures as low as 1000 K when the surface is irradiated with electrons in the presence of Cs. Etching is highly dependent on Cs coverage with the (0001) and (1{bar 1}02) surfaces requiring 2.0{times}10{sup 14} and 3.4{times}10{sup 14} atoms/cm{sup 2} to support etching, respectively. Adsorption profiles demonstrate that these coverages correspond to initial saturation of the surface with Cs. Electron damage of the surface in the absence of Cs also produces desorption of Al and sub-oxides of Al, indicating a possible mechanism for etching. The impact of etching on the surface is to increase the adsorption capacity on the (0001) surface while decreasing both initial adsorption probability and capacity on the (1{bar 1}02) surface. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}
- OSTI ID:
- 385480
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960109--
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 361; ISSN 0094-243X; ISSN APCPCS
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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