Silver L1, L2 and L3 cross-sections for ionization and x-ray production by electron impact

Abstract

The experimental determination of ionization cross-sections and total x-ray production cross-sections under electron impact is carried out for the three silver L-subshells. The very complexspectral structure involving several satellite bands was previously investigated by analyzingwavelength-dispersive spectra acquired in an electron microprobe. In this work, careful spectralprocessing is carried out by means of the POEMA software developed previously, consideringthe spectral energy intervals which include the main Ag-L emissions. The resulting ionizationcross-sections are compared with analytical models based on distorted wave Born approximationcalculations, the experimental determinations of the present work being underestimated by thesepredictions. To the best of the authors’knowledge, this is thefirst time these magnitudes arereported in the literature in this energy range. The total L-shell x-ray production cross-sectionsare also compared with the only previous experimental data found, obtained with differentexperimental settings.