Study of a Nonequilibrium Auger-Transition Using Emission Auger Spectroscopy.

A nonequilibrium Auger transition consisting of a vacancy in the valence layer being filled within ~10–14 s by a probe electron that receives the energy released by the transition of a valence electron to the K-shell and emits it from the surface is investigated. The nonequilibrium Auger spectrum from the surface of thin (8–10 atomic layers) films of silver oxide (Ag2O) on Si3N4 substrate at probe-radiation energy 8–10 keV is obtained for the first time. The transition probability of the escape of nonequilibrium Auger electrons is analyzed as a function of the ordinal atomic number. The amplitude peaks characterizing the contribution of nonequilibrium Auger electrons to the recorded signal are established. The probability, relaxation time, and capture cross section of a free charge carrier by a neutral vacancy are calculated based on a mathematical model describing the nonequilibrium Auger-process dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]