ABSTRACT
When high-energy ions, electrons, x-rays, and gamma rays strike material surfaces, physical and chemicaltransformationsareofteninduced.Althoughlinearenergyandmomentumtransferplays asigniŸcantroleinproducingtrackstructuresanddisplacement-drivendamage,weconcentrate onlow-energysecondaryelectronsthatareveryimportantinstimulatingnonthermalchemical changesinmaterials.Forheterogeneoussurfaces,mixedinterfaces,andsofttargets(i.e.,molecular solids), conventional track structures may not describe the primary inelastic events and radiationdrivenchemistryoccurringunderhighlynonequilibriumconditions.In general,itisimportantto realizethatradiationchemistryisessentiallygovernedbythephysicsassociatedwiththeinitial ionization channels and the subsequent inelastic scattering of low-energy electrons (LEEs).
