Enhanced secondary electron yield from oxidized regions on amorphous carbon films studied by x-ray spectromicroscopy

Photoemission electron spectromicroscopy with synchrotron radiation has been used to study the correlation between the chemical surface composition and secondary electron yield from the surface of amorphous carbon films. Regions of about 4 μm diam were found which exhibited up to ten times higher secondary electron emission than the rest of the film. Near edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy of these regions showed that they contained highly oxidized carbon in the form of carboxylic and carbonate groups. These observations might be linked to the field emission properties of these films. © 1999 American Vacuum Society.