THERMALLY STIMULATED EXOELECTRON EMISSION FROM GLASS DEPOSITED ON METAL BY ARGON PLASMA TREATMENT

Argon plasma treatment of gold metal in a glass reactor deposited silicon oxide originating from the reactor on the metal surface. The deposited silicon oxide was nonstoichiometric and had a strong exoelectron emission activity. The chemical and structural nature of the emitting centers has been investigated. The thermally stimulated exoelectron emission (TSEE) glow curves for the surfaces exhibited one strong emission peak at ~ 170 °C (in a few cases, three peaks at—120, 190, and 240 °C ) with increasing temperature. The intensity of the TSEE peak appearing at 170–190 °C varied in parallel to the atomic ratio of Si2/O1s obtained by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as a function of operational parameters in the plasma treatment. The TSEE peak intensity increased with an increase in the ratio of Si2/O1s. The emitting centers for the TSEE peak can be related to electron trapping sites located in the neighborhood of the oxygen-deficient silicon atoms deposited on the metal surface. © 1990, American Vacuum Society. All rights reserved.