Although ultra-thin alkali halide films are widely employed substrates due to their insulating behavior, their structural stability upon electron and photon beam exposure is not fully understood. In this study, we focus on the evolution of the LiCl thin film structure on graphene through low-energy electron irradiation. We observe desorption of the thin film with a bi-exponential decay behavior. We describe LiCl desorption as a process triggered by the evolution of primary quasiparticles that are generated by the impact of low-energy electrons. Finally, we compare the behavior of lithium upon electron and photon irradiation. We observe that when irradiated with electrons, no lithium intercalation takes place, while it does occur upon soft X-ray irradiation
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Electron-stimulated desorption kinetics of ultra-thin LiCl films on graphene
J. Azpeitia , M. Foerster, L. Aballe, M. García-Hernández, J. A. Martín-Gago, P. Merino, I. Palacio
Applied Surface Science 639, 158231 (2023).