Hollow-atom probing of surfaces

This paper discusses the mechanisms governing the formation and decay of hollow atoms in front of (semi) conducting and insulating surfaces. First, the primary neutralization of the highly charged ions is treated in terms of the classical overbarrier model. Different views are presented. Then the most energetic part (the filling of the K-shell hole) of the de-excitation of hydrogenic hollow atoms is treated in terms of a balance between L-shell filling rates and KLL Auger decay rates. Special attention is focused on the influence of the electronic structure of the different targets used on the deexcitation mechanisms.