On the production of X-rays by low energy ion beams

Although electron beams with energies of a few keV can excite fluorescent X-ray production from solids, ion beams of comparable energy cannot do so. The reason for this situation is that it is the velocity of the incident particle, rather than its energy, which determines whether an ionization event can be generated. SCANNING 29: 1–4, 2007. Copyright © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.