Ab initio calculation of surface atom evaporation in electron field emission

Abstract

Surface atom evaporation under electron field emission was investigated by scattering-state calculations based on the density-functional theory. We found that surface atom evaporation assisted by electron field emission occurs for a certain electric-field strength that is lower than that of usual field evaporation without electron field emission. The present ab-initio study elucidates the surface atom process under field emission, which has been frequently observed in experiments, for the first time. © 2007 The Surface Science Society of Japan.