Indications for enhanced Auger-electron absorption in a hot-electron gas

Abstract

Solid-state Auger-electron angular distributions are known to be largely independent of the type of excitation, following roughly a cosine law for low ejection energies. In this Letter it is shown that the iontrack dynamics and the corresponding high electron temperatures lead to significant variations of these Auger distributions. Ratios for different degrees of inner-shell ionization versus angle are sensitive to the high-energy-deposition density. The ratios show a minimum for emission angles close to the ion-track direction, consistent with enhanced inelastic electron-energy losses or electron absorption, respectively. Thus Auger-electron yields are influenced by the spatial electronic excitation distribution.