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The double K-shell ionization of Sc, Cr and Cu induced by electron impact was investigated via high energy resolution measurements of the Kα diagram transitions and the transitions resulting from the radiative decay of K-shell double vacancy states, namely the Khα hypersatellites. For Sc, the Kβ diagram lines and Khβ hypersatellites were also measured. The measurements were carried out in-house with a von Hamos curved crystal spectrometer operated in the so-called direct geometry in which the anodes of Sc, Cr and Cu X-ray tubes were used as targets. For each element, the electron kinetic energy was chosen to be about twice the threshold energy for the double 1s ionization. The double-to-single ionization cross-sections ratios PKK were deduced from the hypersatellite-to-diagram line yield ratios, corrected beforehand for the self-absorption of the X-rays in the target and the energy dependent efficiency of the spectrometer. The obtained ratios are discussed and compared to other PKK values found in the literature for electrons and photons.

The grazing emission X-ray fluorescence (GEXRF) technique was applied to the analysis of different Al films, with nominal thicknesses in the range of 1 nm to 150 nm, on Si wafers. In GEXRF the sample volume from which the fluorescence intensity is detected is restricted to a near-surface region whose thickness can be tuned by varying the observation angle. This is possible because of the refraction of the fluorescence X-rays and the quite long emission paths within the probed sample. By recording the X-ray fluorescence signal for different shallow emission angles, defined relatively to the flat, smooth sample surface, the deposited Al surface layers of the different samples could be well characterized in terms of layer thickness, layer density, oxidation and surface roughness. The advantages offered by synchrotron radiation and the employed wavelength-dispersive detection setup were profited from. The GEXRF results retrieved were confirmed by complementary measurements. The experimental setup, the principles and advantages of GEXRF and the analysis of the recorded angular intensity profiles will be discussed in details.

The synchrotron radiation based high-resolution grazing emission X-ray fluorescence (GEXRF) technique was used to extract the distribution of Al ions implanted with a dose of 1016 atoms/cm2 in Si wafers with energies ranging between 1 and 100 keV. The depth distributions of the implanted ions were deduced from the measured angular profiles of the Al-Kα X-ray fluorescence line with nanometer-scale precision. The experimental results were compared to theoretical predictions of the depth distributions resulting from ion implantation. A good agreement between experiment and theory was found which proved that the presented high-resolution grazing emission X-ray fluorescence technique is well suited to perform depth profiling measurements of impurities located within the extinction depth, provided the overall shape of the distribution can be assumed a priori.

In this work our previous study about chemical effects in the Kα spectra of S compounds employing high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy has been extended to the Kβ emission spectra. The measurements were performed with a wavelength dispersive single crystal spectrometer operated in the von Hamos geometry having an energy resolution comparable to the natural linewidth of the measured Kβ X-ray lines. The target fluorescence was produced by irradiating the samples with the bremsstrahlung from an X-ray tube. The energies and widths of the main components in the Kβ emission spectrum are given for different sulfur compounds (sulfide, sulfite, sulfate). The measured energy shifts between the Kβ lines of the compounds and elemental sulfur are presented as a function of the sulfur oxidation state and compared with the results obtained from the former Kα measurements.

The high-resolution von Hamos Bragg crystal spectrometer was constructed for the study of K X-ray emission from low- Z elements and L and M X-ray spectra of medium to high Z elements. Recently, this instrument was applied to high-resolution XES and RIXS studies using X-ray synchrotron radiation at the ID21 and BM5 beamlines at the ESRF. An outline of the spectrometer design and performance characteristics will be given. The studies deal with the energy dependent KL double photoexcitation of argon, the L 3 and M 1 atomic-level widths of elements 54≤ Z ≤77, and the evolution of the K-edge RIXS spectra of manganese oxides.

The high-resolution spectra of thorium Mα 1,2 (M 5 N 6,7 ) and Mβ(M 4 N 6 ) X-ray lines induced by O and Ne ions with energies 376 and 178 MeV, respectively, have been measured using a von Hamos crystal spectrometer. The measured spectra exhibit the pronounced X-ray satellite structure due to the multiple ionization in the N- and M-shells. In particular the N-shell satellites are well resolved and the M-shell hypersatellites are clearly observed, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time. The observed M-X-ray diagram transitions and their satellites are interpreted using the multi-configuration Dirac-Fock (MCDF) calculations performed for the multi-vacancy configurations including up to two spectator vacancies. The comparison shows that calculations for more vacancies are needed to reproduce the measured X-ray structure. On the other hand, the data are well interpreted qualitatively using a simplified model of the “average” MCDF satellites having binomially distributed intensities. Further MCDF calculations are in the progress, which ultimately allow to extract precise (∼0.5 eV) information on the electronic structure of the multiple ionized thorium.

The Kβ spectrum of 42Mo bombarded by 20.8 MeV/amu carbon ions was measured with high-resolution using a transmission-type bent crystal spectrometer operated in the modified DuMond slit geometry. The M-shell satellites of the Kβ2 transition could be well resolved, whereas for the Kβ1,3 transitions only a broadening and shift of the line centroid was observed. The composite structure of the satellite lines which consist of many components that vary in energy and strength was analyzed using theoretical energies and relative intensities obtained from multiconfiguration Dirac–Fock calculations. From the data analysis average M-shell satellite-to-diagram line yield ratios were deduced for both the Kβ1,3 and Kβ2 transitions. For the Kβ2 transition for which the relative contributions of the 3s,p and 3d spectator vacancies to the observed Kβ2M1 satellite yield could be determined, separated X(Kβ2M11,2,3):X(Kβ2M0) and X(Kβ2M14,5):X(Kβ2M0) yield ratios could even be extracted.

High-resolution measurements of the Kα 1,2 X-ray spectra were performed with a bent crystal diffraction spectrometer for zirconium, niobium, molybdenum and palladium targets bombarded by 280 and 360 MeV oxygen ions. The energy differences between the Kα 1,2 diagram and the K h α 1,2 hypersatellite transitions as well as the intensity ratios I ( K h α 1 )/ I ( K h α 2 ) were determined. The L-shell satellites of the diagram and of the hypersatellite lines were resolved. The data are interpreted in terms of the properties of He-like hole states in mid- Z atoms. The Breit interaction correction is determined. The corrections due to the unresolved M-shell satellites and to the QED are found to be much smaller than the Breit terms and comparable to the experimental accuracy.

A new technique which allows the storage of noble gases in polymeric films at ambient temperature was successfully developed. The trapping of the rare gases in the polymer takes place via X-ray irradiation of the gas and the polymer film by means of an X-ray tube. Concentrations up to about 2 × 1017 atoms of noble gas per cm2 of the film were obtained. The thermal energy needed for desorbing Xe from a kapton film was found to be about 16 kcal/mol which is large compared with the known values for thermal desorptions on metal surfaces. An energy shift of 1.04 ± 0.48 eV was further observed for the 5p–1s X-ray transition of trapped Xe atoms, which permits to surmise a rather strong interaction between the sorbate atoms and the sorbent molecules. Two interpretations of the observed phenomena are presented, the first involves bond ruptures and bond rearrangements in the polymer whereas the second is based on the assumption that chemisorption or persorption of Xe occurs in the polymeric substrate.

A high-resolution von Hamos Bragg crystal X-ray spectrometer is described. The instrument was designed for the study of X-ray emission from low-Z elements and L X-ray spectra of medium to high Z targets induced by photon and particle impact. The construction details and operational characteristics of the spectrometer are presented along with the data illustrating the utility of this facility in different areas of research in atomic physics.

Excited levels of the strongly-deformed odd-odd nucleus 166Tm, populated by the 165Ho(α,3nγ) reaction, were investigated using standard in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy, including measurements of a few conversion electron lines, and by high-resolution curved-crystal spectroscopy. A level scheme consisting of 178 transitions among 6 well-developed and 4 partial rotational bands is proposed. Level spins and parities were determined and the results were interpreted in the framework of the Nilsson model by comparison with predictions. The Gallagher-Moszkowski splitting for the { π 1 2 + [411] ± ν 5 2 + [642] } configuration was determined to be 245(20) keV. An anomalous signature splitting was observed for the {π 7 2 + [404] + ν 5 2 + [642]}K π = 6 + configuration.

Excited states of 166 Tm were investigated by means of the 165 Ho(α, 3n) reaction. Two rotational bands were identified up to tentative spins of 20 − and 18 + . Their electromagnetic.properties were studied and interpreted in the framework of the cranking shell model (CSM) and of the particle-rotor model (PRM). Both the revised Donau and Frauendorf formula (CSM) and the PRM calculations reproduce the experimental results rather well for spins between 10 and 14, whereas they fail at low and high angular momenta. The two models predict different I -dependences for the B (M1) values in the angular momentum region of I j p + j n . The existence and interpretation of the signature inversion of the yrast band is discussed using three different models. The results show that the occurrence of signature inversion does not necessarily mean the presence of trixial nuclear shape.

A diffraction spectrometer with a quartz crystal bent to the radius of 4.64 m has been installed at the beam line of KVI variable energy cyclotron. The instrument is intended for a detailed study of KX-rays from multiply ionized atoms with Z > 56. The KX-ray spectra of Tb bombarded with 15 MeV/amu 4He and 20Ne ions are presented along with the calibration 84.257 keV gamma line of 170Yb. The L-shell ionization probabilities in near central collisions are deduced from the measured L-satellite yield distribution.

The branching ratios for the γ-decay of the lowest states in the {π 7 2 + (404)±ν 5 2 − (512)}K π =1 ground-state band and Kπ=6−142 d isomeric rotational band have been measured following 176Yb(p, 3nγ)174 Lu excitation. These results are combined with known magnetic moments to deduce gyromagnetic factors. Anomalous values are evinced for the higher K-configuration.

The effects on the diffraction properties of the (1 1 0) quartz planes induced by the application of a static and alternating electric fields have been experimentally investigated. Increases of reflectivity are observed. An outline of the interpretation is given.

An in-beam curved crystal spectrometer facility has been installed at the SIN variable energy cyclotron. The radius of curvature is 3.15 m. Using the (110) planes of different bent quartz laminas, diffraction peaks down to Δθ = 5 arcsec FWHM are obtained. The energy resolution is thus ΔE ⋍ 0.01 E 2 /n , where n is the diffraction order, ΔE being expressed in eV and E in keV. The spectrometer has been constructed to cover an angular range of ±10°. Transitions in the range 17 to about 350 keV have so far been observed. Measurements have been performed in conventional line source DuMond geometry and in slit geometry. The instrument is being used for the high-resolution observation of X- and gamma-rays induced by proton, helium- and oxygen-ion bombardment.

The nuclear levels in 174 Lu were investigated by means of 176 Yb(p, 3nγ) reaction spectroscopy. Standard germanium detector techniques as well as an on-line curved crystal spectrometer were used. Six well-developed rotational bands are observed. These results confirm and extend the scheme previously obtained by direct reactions. The presented data document a study on the anomalous g -factors of the 142 d isomeric band.