Experimental investigation of electron emission from dielectric surfaces due to primary electron beam: a review

When charged particles impact the surface of a solid material, they can be backscattered from that surface or cause secondary electrons to be emitted. The ratio of the number of emitted electrons (secondary and backscattered) to the incident electrons number is known as the total electron emission yield. Knowledge of this total electron emission yield (TEEY) is highly required in various modern technologies, and several experimental techniques were developed with the purpose of its determination. However, experimental data, obtained with different methods are not in good agreement and sometimes are even contradictive. The purpose of this paper is to review the existing experimental methods of investigating electron emission (EE) from dielectric surfaces, as well as to analyze their accuracy and reliability. The focus is on the processes of the emission from thick layers of insulators which is the case for modern high voltage technologies.