Role of the deposited charge in the transmission of low-energy electrons through insulating nanocapillaries
Phys. Rev. A 112, 012823 – Published 30 July, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/m1fy-8ntn
Abstract
The transmission of low-energy electrons through polyethylene terephthalate nanocapillaries is studied both by experiments and simulations. It is found that the transmission of electrons with incident energy occurs mostly within the geometrically allowed angle and they exit along the incident direction. The rate of the directly transmitted electrons decreases with time and their angular distributions broaden as the incident charge increases. A tentative simulation is performed to explain the experimental results by taking into account the deposited charges on the capillary walls, the image force, and electron scattering processes. The blocking of the transmission of the electrons with the incident energy is explained to be from the formation of the attractive Coulomb field, from the opposite (positive) charge to the incident electron inside the capillaries due to the impact of the projectiles and the production of secondary electrons. The broadening of the full angular distribution for the directly transmitted electrons is attributed to the charging of the bulk of the capillary membrane. This provides evidence for the controversial issue of the production of charge patches and their role in transmitting electrons through insulating nanocapillaries.
