Influence of Mechanical Finishing on Secondary Electron Emission of Alumina Ceramics

Secondary electron emission (SEE) coefficients of alumina ceramics with three different surface finishes have been measured using a scanning electron microscope with a single-pulse electron beam (100 pA, 1 ms). SEE coefficients of those aluminas with annealing process became lower after mechanical grinding operations even though its average roughness was almost same as those of as-sintered ones. SEE coefficients of mirror-finished samples were the smallest among the samples. Changes of SEE coefficient with incident angle of primary electrons for smooth and rough surfaces are also discussed