INELASTIC PROCESSES IN KEV H+ AND HE+ SCATTERING FROM CU(110)

Measurements and calculations for the kinetic electron emission from k eV protons and He+ ions grazingly incident on Cu(110) are discussed. T he electron energy distributions are shown to be dominated by the emis sion of the localized 3d electrons of Cu during the atom-atom collisio ns at the surface. This mechanism gives rise to inelastic energy losse s of the projectiles; the excitation of the 3d electrons of Cu to ener gies just above the Fermi level are shown to contribute significantly to the total energy loss. In case of H it is shown that also the contr ibution of the excitation of the Is electron of H may be important. In case of He this is not the case due to the larger binding energies of the Is electrons.