Kinetic Theory of Field Evaporation of Metals
Abstract
Starting from adiabatic energy curves, calculated as a function of electric field strength we develop a perturbational method to construct diabatic states which form the basis to computer the temperature dependent ionization probabilities for field evaporation of metals. Employing a master equation we calculate the energy dependent ion yield as a function of field strength and temperature, and extract the field dependence of the activation barrier and the prefactor. As a function of field strength the activation barrier for field evaporation decreases monotonically for tungsten, whereas the prefactor increases up to a field strength of 4.5V/A for tungsten due to an increase in the ionization probability and then decreases due to changes in the surface potential.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 25, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA223456
Entities
People
- H. J. Kreuzer
- L. C. Wang
Organizations
- Dalhousie University