Indications for enhanced auger-electron absorption in a hot-electron gas.

Solid-state Auger-electron angular distributions are known to be largely independent of the type of excitation, following roughly a cosine law for low ejection energies. In this Letter it is shown that the ion-track dynamics and the corresponding high electron temperatures lead to significant variations of these Auger distributions. Ratios for different degrees of inner-shell ionization versus angle are sensitive to the high-energy-deposition density. The ratios show a minimum for emission angles close to the ion-track direction, consistent with enhanced inelastic electron-energy losses or electron absorption, respectively. Thus Auger-electron yields are influenced by the spatial electronic excitation distribution.