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The slow positron beam facility TEPOS at the 65 MeV electron linear accelerator in Giessen has been used to produce an intense beam of monoenergetic positrons. The impact energy of the positrons hitting the surface of a polycrystalline molybdenum foil has been varied between 0 and 470 eV. The authors observed the formation of n=2 positronium by the emitted Lyman- alpha radiation and its change as a function of the positron energy. They found a maximum yield of excited positronium at an implantation energy of (60+or-20) eV. The yield decreased to 50% of the maximum value at about 200 eV.

Fine structure transitions in the first excited state of positronium (Ps) have been measured using 'Backscatter Ps' production on a Mo surface by observation of a change in the emitted Lyman- alpha intensity under resonant microwave irradiation. Production, fine structure transitions and Lyman- alpha decay of the Ps atoms took place inside a waveguide designed to transmit the microwave frequencies of 8.6, 13.0 and 18.5 GHz for the transitions from the 23S1 state to the 23PJ, J=2, 1, 0, states, respectively. In the presence of a magnetic field, all transitions observed show a shift to higher frequencies, compared with earlier calculations and measurements in zero magnetic field. The deviations exceed the expected Zeeman shift significantly but may be explained by assuming a motional Stark effect as predicted by Lewis and Hughes for Ps with kinetic energies of several eV.

During the last 6 years it has been demonstrated that electro-produced intense beams of slow positrons are possible. High energy electrons from an accelerator generate bremsstrahlung in a thick conversion target of high element number Z. The photons produce electronpositron pairs and a small fraction of the positrons may be moderated to thermal energies. A review is given of the existing slow positron beam lines using this technique. At accelerator energies of 100 MeV total conversion efficiencies of several slow positrons per 106 primary electrons have been obtained, resulting in average intensities of several 109 slow positrons per second or more than 105 slow positrons in pulses having a duration of a few ns. A further increase in intensity by at least one order of magnitude seems possible at higher accelerator energies.

Low-energy positron emission from tungsten moderators, placed at a electron accelerator beam stop slows down with increasing moderator temperature. Efficient positronium formation is reported on untreated and unoriented metal surfaces at higher target temperatures.