Photodetachment of H− near the band-gap surfaces of the metal

We investigate the photodetachment of H− near the band-gap metal surface based on the semiclassical closed orbit theory. The result shows that the staircase structure of the photodetachment cross section is strongly influenced by the lifetime of the detached electron near the metal surface as the photon energy increases. When the detached electron energy is between the threshold and the image potential, the photodetachment cross section presents some more sophisticated structure in each step.

► We show that the staircase structure of the photodetachment cross section H– near the band gap metal surface has been strongly influenced by the lifetime of the detached electron near the metal surface. ► When the detached electron energy is between the threshold and the image potential, the photodetachment cross section presents some more sophisticated structure in each step. ► We find that the longer the image state lifetime is, the larger the high frequency amplitude of the Fourier transform spectrum.