A systematic study of backward ejected electrons for 1 MeV/u O ℓ (q = 3 - 8) projectile ions colliding with argon gas

This thesis describes measurements of the energy distribution of electrons emitted into a cone of half angle Δθ = 2 ° centered at 0 = 180 ° with respect to the beam direction. The backward ejected electrons are produced in collisions between 1 MeV/u O^q+ [q = 3 - 8] projectile ions and argon atoms. A 30 ° parallel plate electrostatic analyzer is used for the measurements. The analyzer has been reconstructed and its properties have been investigated. A computer program has been written to simulate the operation of the analyzer. Within the electron energy range of approximately (15 - 1400) eV, features due to three distinct electron production mechanisms can be identified in the experimental data: low energy electrons produced in large impact parameter "soft collisions", target LMM Auger electrons, and projectile binary encounter electrons. In this thesis, the energy distributions and the cross sections for producing these electrons are measured and are compared to the predictions of a simple model for the production of binary encounter electrons.