Role of adsorption effects on absolute electron-molecule cross-section calibration using the relative flow technique.

In this work, we report an experimental investigation on relative flow-rate determination for vapors. The mechanism of adsorption-desorption of vapors on surfaces is considered. In contrast to previous investigations, our study shows that the adsorption of vapors on surfaces may significantly affect the flow-rate determination and consequently the measured cross sections. Particularly, for water, it can result in an overestimation of 35% in the cross sections.