The research is intended to continue previous studies of the effects of AC and DC electric fields on surface related processes in ionic solids. The objective is to understand the effects of external electric fields on evaporation, via modification of the gaseous species near the surface, the effects of electric fields on impurity segregation on the surface and surface diffusion of various species, the interaction of electric fields with impurities, and finally the effects of electric fields on the nucleation and growth films. Field effects on evaporation will be studied by standard electron microscopy techniques on various alkali halide single crystals; coupled mass spectrometry will also be used to study the nature of the evaporating species. X- ray photoelectron spectroscopy will be used to study the role and behavior of impurities and dopants on the surface with respect to electric field effects. Some parametric studies will also be conducted varying the parameters of the fields e.g., frequency of AC fields. This research is relevant to a variety of processes with technological import. In particular, the eventual application of the scientific understanding derived in this study to the growth of thin films has a variety of important potential applications, in the areas of electronics and optics.
