Meyer S, Diesing D, Wucher A
Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45117 Essen, Germany.
Phys Rev Lett. 2004 Sep 24;93(13):137601. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.137601. Epub 2004 Sep 23.
The kinetic excitation of electrons upon bombardment of a solid surface with energetic ions is investigated. Using a metal-insulator-metal junction, hot electrons produced by the projectile impact are detected with excitation energies well below the vacuum level. The results provide information that cannot be accessed by electron emission experiments. The observed tunneling current depends on the projectile energy and the bias voltage across the junction, opening the possibility of internal excitation spectroscopy.
