The Power Law and Constant Loss Models in Secondary Electron Emission

Peter D. Gianino · Edward A. Burke

Jan 1966 · Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, Office of Aerospace Research, United States Air Force

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There is evidence that the low-energy component of secondary emission from metals under relativistic electron bombardment can be predicted using experimental data obtained under low-energy irradiation. This greatly enhances the motivation for establishing a model applicable to low-energy bombardment which can reliably predict the behavior of all necessary quantities. Two phenomenological models - namely, the Power Law (P.L.) and the Constant Loss (C. L.) assumptions - have already been employed in this energy range. This report presents a more comprehensive and conclusive treatment of both assumptions with the ultimate aim of deciding which is the more suitable. It includes, for both suppositions, the derivation of all pertinent equations, including the ratio E/delta x; the furnishing of many more equivalent expressions for the maximum total yield; and the reduction of the equations for total yields at moderately high energies to a form identical with that used successfully at relativistic energies for the low-energy component from thin targets. When the reduced yields of both models are compared with that of empirical data, results indicate that the P. L. model with n = 1.35 provides a more satisfactory fit. Further examination shows that the parameter A appears to be a fixed constant, not a characteristic of each material, and the total yields and energies in the moderately high range in the P. L. determination of E/delta x are interchangeable with the maximum total yield and its corresponding energy. (Author).