Highly efficient time-of-flight spectrometer for studying low-energy secondary emission from dielectrics: Secondary-electron emission from LiF film

A highly efficient time-of-flight electron spectrometer is described. An incident electron current of the order of 10(-14) A makes it suitable for studying secondary emission from dielectric surfaces. A microchannel plate position-sensitive detector allows flight distance correction while keeping a large acceptance angle. Measured energy distribution curves of secondary electrons generated from a LiF film by 19-31 eV incident electrons demonstrate good energy resolution and reveal reproducible and stable emission features at 2.6 +/- 0.3 eV, 7.2 +/- 0.3 eV, and 10.3 +/- 0.3 eV. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.