Characterization of atom and ion-induced “internal” electron emission by thin film tunnel junctions

Highly excited charge carriers are released when single or multiply charged ions impinge on metal surfaces. While electron emission into the adjacent vacuum phase is well investigated, one has only limited knowledge about the transport of excited electrons or holes into the bulk of a metal. This shortcoming can be reduced by studying the transport of these excited carriers over buried tunnel barriers in thin film metal-insulator–metal devices. The internal barriers can be tuned by a tunnel voltage which makes the device to a balance for excited electrons and holes. With a simple theoretical model we derive the balance function of different tunnel barriers and show their feasibility for the characterization of particle induced electronic excitations on metal surfaces.