Electron-Molecule Interactions Studied in Electron Backscattering Experiments

Mariusz Zubek

Department of Physics of Electronic Phenomena
Gdansk University of Technology
80-952 Gdansk, Poland

The interaction of electrons with molecules in single-electron collision processes have been studied using experimental techniques which enable observation of scattering in the backward direction close to 180o. These techniques include applications of the magnetic angle-changing technique [1,2] and a new backscattering electron spectrometer, that is presently being developed, equipped with a hypocycloidal electron selector [3]. Up to now such investigations of elastic and inelastic processes have been limited to the noble gas atoms, Ar, Kr [4,5] and the simple molecules, O2, N2, H2O [6,7]. However it is intended to extend these techniques to molecules that are of wide interest in plasma etching gases and to biological molecules such as DNA bases. Scattering in the backward direction increases the effects due to various types of interactions. In particular, polarization and exchange effects are expected to be more significant than the electric-dipole interaction

References
[1] Zubek M, Mielewska B, Channing J M, King G C and Read F H 1999 J. Phys. B 32 1351
[2] Linert I, King G C and Zubek M 2004 J. Electron Spectrosc. Rel. Phenom. 134 1
[3] Zubek M, Smialek M, Feyer V, Dydycz A and Mielewska B 2005 in preparation
[4] Mielewska B, Linert I, King G C and Zubek M 2004 Phys. Rev. A 69 062716
[5] Cho H, Gulley R J and Buckman S J 2003 J. Korean Phys. Soc. 42 71
[6] Linert I, King G C and Zubek M 2004 J. Phys. B 37 4681
[7] Cho H, Park Y S, Tanaka H and Buckman S J 2004 J. Phys. B 37 625