Inelastic guiding of electrons in polymer nanocapillaries

Abstract

Electron transmission through insulating polymer nanocapillary (diameter 200 nm and aspect ratio 50) foils has been investigated for incident energies 500 and 1000 eV. Significant intensities of transmitted electrons were observed for foil tilt angles up to ∼10°, and corresponding observation angles with respect to the incident beam direction, a phenomenon referred to as guiding. The transmitted electron spectra show substantial energy losses that increase with the capillary tilt angle, in sharp contrast to previous results for slow positive ions and lower energy electrons. Despite apparent close encounters with the capillary walls, inelastically scattered electrons are found to be guided at angles coinciding with elastically scattered electrons. These results suggest a means to study the dynamics of electron interactions with insulating materials, which is complicated by charge buildup in conventional surface scattering studies. © 2007 The American Physical Society.