In a recent publication in Phys Rev B, Dzhanoev et al. remind us that surface structure can strongly influence secondary electron (SE) emission yield. In the case of nanoparticles of some material, not only may the total SE yield increase relative to the flat, bulk case, but the very shape of the yield curve vs. incident electron energy may also change. The authors develop a simple sphere-on-slab model which generalizes the analytic (fitted) equation of SE yield of the slab alone.
Reference: A R Dzhanoev, et al., “Secondary Electron Emission from Surfaces with Small Structure”, Phys. Rev. B 92, 125430 (2015) (Also available as arXiv:1605.00637.)