Enhancement of the characteristic X-ray yield from oriented crystal irradiated by high-energy electrons

Abstract

In this report, results of a measurement of characteristic X-ray (CXR) yields from oriented tungsten crystal targets irradiated by 600–1000 MeV electrons are presented. Characteristic X-rays from tungsten are measured with a Si(Li) semiconductor detector placed at the backward direction with respect to the incident electron beam. We have observed an enhancement of the X-ray yield due to the K-shell ionization when the crystal axis 〈1 1 1〉 is oriented along the beam. The ratio of the K-line yield from the oriented crystal to the one from the disoriented crystal is about 1.6–1.9 for the target thickness of 1.2 mm at the electron energy of 1000 MeV. For L-line yields the enhancement is not appreciable. We demonstrated a possibility of using the orientation dependence of the CXR as a mean of aligning the crystal axis at the channeling condition to the beam.