ELECTRON-IMPACT IONIZATION OF ATOMS, MOLECULES, IONS AND TRANSIENT SPECIES

This topical review examines the current status of the electron-impact ionization of atoms, molecules, ions and transient species such as free radicals and atoms/molecules in metastable states from the point of a view of the relevance of these processes for the physics and chemistry of low-temperature and moderate-temperature plasmas. The primary emphasis of this review is on recent developments in the measurement (and to a lesser extent also in the calculation) of absolute total and partial angle-integrated electron-impact ionization cross sections. An attempt is also made to identify the most promising directions for future research in this field.