Researchers at TU Wien have actually produced an approach to study sluggish electrons in materials by using quick electrons, challenging previous beliefs about electron interaction characteristics. TU Wien has actually now been successful in acquiring valuable brand-new info about the behavior of these electrons: Fast electrons are used to generate sluggish electrons straight in the material. These quick electrons can interrupt the balance between the positive and unfavorable electrical charges of the material, which can then lead to another electron detaching itself from its place, taking a trip at a reasonably low speed and in some cases escaping from the material.The vital step now is to measure these various electrons at the same time: “On the one hand, we shoot an electron into the material and determine its energy when it leaves again. Mathematical theories on this can be reliably validated for the first time using the data.This led to a surprise: it was formerly thought that the release of electrons in the material took location in a waterfall: A quick electron gets in the material and hits another electron, which is then ripped away from its place, causing two electrons to move.
Scientists at TU Wien have actually created a method to study slow electrons in materials by utilizing quick electrons, challenging previous beliefs about electron interaction dynamics. Their findings, which show sluggish electrons being launched through private collisions rather than waterfalls, have substantial implications for cancer treatment and microelectronics.Slow electrons are used in cancer treatment in addition to in microelectronics, however, it is really hard to observe how they behave in solids. And now, scientists at TU Wien have made this possible.Electrons can behave really in a different way depending on just how much energy they have. When electrons, whether high or low energy, are shot into a solid body, they can produce different impacts. Low-energy electrons can contribute to cancer development, but they can also be harnessed to ruin growths. They are also essential in innovation, for example for the production of tiny structures in microelectronics.These slow electrons, nevertheless, are incredibly challenging to measure. Understanding about their behavior in solid materials is limited, and often researchers can just rely on experimentation. TU Wien has now prospered in acquiring important brand-new information about the habits of these electrons: Fast electrons are used to produce slow electrons directly in the material. This allows information to be figured out that were previously unattainable experimentally. The method has now existed in the journal Physical Review Letters.Two kinds of electrons at the same time” We are interested in what the sluggish electrons do inside a material, for instance inside a crystal or inside a living cell,” says Prof Wolfgang Werner from the Institute of Applied Physics at TU Wien. “To find out, you would in fact need to develop a mini-laboratory directly in the material to be able to measure straight on website. Thats not possible, of course.” Felix Blödorn, Julian Brunner, Alessandra Bellissimo, Florian Simperl, Wolfgang Werner. Credit: TU WienYou can only determine electrons that come out of the product, however that does not inform you where in the product they were released and what has happened to them ever since. The team at TU Wien resolved this problem with the assistance of fast electrons that permeate the product and stimulate different procedures there. For instance, these quick electrons can disrupt the balance in between the positive and unfavorable electrical charges of the product, which can then result in another electron separating itself from its location, taking a trip at a relatively low speed and in some cases getting away from the material.The vital action now is to measure these various electrons concurrently: “On the one hand, we shoot an electron into the product and determine its energy when it leaves once again. On the other hand, we also determine which sluggish electrons come out of the product at the exact same time.” And by combining this data, it is possible to get info that was previously inaccessible.Not a wild cascade, but a series of collisionsThe quantity of energy that the fast electron has lost on its journey through the product offers info on how deeply it has actually permeated the product. This in turn supplies info about the depth at which the slower electrons were released from their place.This data can now be used to calculate to what degree and in what way the sluggish electrons in the material launch their energy. Mathematical theories on this can be dependably verified for the very first time using the data.This led to a surprise: it was formerly thought that the release of electrons in the product occurred in a waterfall: A fast electron gets in the material and hits another electron, which is then ripped away from its location, causing two electrons to move. These two electrons would then get rid of two more electrons from their location, and so on. The new data reveal that this is not true: rather, the fast electron undergoes a series of crashes, however always maintains a large part of its energy and only one relatively slow electron is separated from its location in each of these interactions.” Our new method provides chances in extremely various areas,” states Wolfgang Werner. “We can now lastly investigate how the electrons release energy in their interaction with the material. It is precisely this energy that identifies whether tumor cells can be ruined in cancer therapy, for example, or whether the finest details of a semiconductor structure can be correctly formed in electron beam lithography.” Reference: “Energy Dissipation of Fast Electrons in Polymethylmethacrylate: Toward a Universal Curve for Electron-Beam Attenuation in Solids in between ∼ 0 eV and Relativistic Energies” by Wolfgang S. M. Werner, Florian Simperl, Felix Blödorn, Julian Brunner, Johannes Kero, Alessandra Bellissimo and Olga Ridzel, 1 May 2024, Physical Review Letters.DOI: 10.1103/ PhysRevLett.132.186203.