Role of surface structure in photoelectron emission from solid Ne: Impurities, defect, and low-coordinated sites

Electron emission was obtained from a solid Ne sample grown from the gas phase on a low temperature substrate. The surface of the sample was irradiated by the light of a microwave discharge in gaseous Ne, which caused electron emission from the sample. A jet of a second gas, D-2, was simultaneously passed onto the substrate avoiding the discharge zone. Free electrons ejected into a vacuum chamber during sample growth were detected by means of electron cyclotron resonance. Emission shows nonmonotonic dependence on the concentration of the impurity D-2. At low concentrations the electron yield is found to increase significantly with increasing flow rate of the dopant, while at moderate concentrations the yield tends to decrease with increasing flow rate. A tentative explanation of the observed effect is presented. It is based on the exceptional properties, which the neon-hydrogen solid mixture is believed to have. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4745676]