Auger electron emission by ion impact on solid surfaces

In this review, we examine recent work on the emission of Auger electrons by energetic ion collisions on solid surfaces. We give a detailed presentation of the results concerning the interpretation of the Auger lineshape, the identification and separation of different spectral contributions, and the evaluation of the relative importance of symmetric and asymmetric collisions in ionization and sputter-ejection processes. We stress the relevance of the excitation and detection geometry, and discuss the angular and energetic dependence of the Auger lineshape in terms of the Doppler effect. Emission from multi-elemental targets and from singly or multiply charged projectiles is also reviewed. Finally, a brief survey of computational studies in this area is presented.