Field desorption of Na and Cs from graphene on iridium

Field electron and desorption microscopy has been used to study specific features of the field desorption of sodium and cesium ions adsorbed on the surface of iridium with graphene. It was found that adsorbed sodium atoms most strongly reduce the work function on graphene islands situated over densely packed faces of iridium. A strong electric field qualitatively similarly affects the sodium and cesium desorption processes from a field emitter to give two desorption phases and has no noticeable effect on the disintegration of the graphene layer.