Suppression of Secondary Electron Emission from Nickel Surface by Graphene Composites Based on First-Principles Method

Secondary electron emission (SEE) is a fundamental phenomenon of particle/surface interaction, and the multipactor effect induced by SEE can result in disastrous impacts on the performance of microwave devices. To suppress the SEE-induced multipactor, an Ni (111) surface covered with a monolayer of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Min Peng, Chang Nan, Dawei Wang, Meng Cao, Liang Zhang, Laijun Liu, Chunliang Liu, Dangqi Fang, Yiqi Zhang, Yonggui Zhai, Yongdong Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-09-01
Series:Nanomaterials
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/13/18/2550
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Summary:Secondary electron emission (SEE) is a fundamental phenomenon of particle/surface interaction, and the multipactor effect induced by SEE can result in disastrous impacts on the performance of microwave devices. To suppress the SEE-induced multipactor, an Ni (111) surface covered with a monolayer of graphene was proposed and studied theoretically via the density functional theory (DFT) method. The calculation results indicated that redistribution of the electron density at the graphene/Ni (111) interface led to variations in the work function and the probability of SEE. To validate the theoretical results, experiments were performed to analyze secondary electron yield (SEY). The measurements showed a significant decrease in the SEY on an Ni (111) surface covered with a monolayer of graphene, accompanied by a decrease in the work function, which is consistent with the statistical evidence of a strong correlation between the work function and SEY of metals. A discussion was given on explaining the experimental phenomenon using theoretical calculation results, where the empty orbitals lead to an electron trapping effect, thereby reducing SEY.
ISSN:2079-4991