Experimental study on the Ag L-shell X-ray production cross-sections with thick-target method induced by positrons up to 9 keV

Abstract

In this paper, the on-line monitoring technology of the slow positron beam intensity has been applied to measure the Ag characteristic X-ray yields with pure thick target by 6–9 keV positrons impact. The experimental characteristic X-ray yields have been compared with the corresponding yields simulated by Monte Carlo calculations, and the ratio of the former to the latter has been defined as the scaling factor. Then the experimentally scaled theoretical X-ray production cross-sections have also been acquired by multiplying the Ag X-ray production cross-sections in the database of the Monte Carlo code used in this work by the corresponding scaling factor. Some discrepancies between the Distorted Wave Born Approximation (DWBA) predictions and the experimental data provided by different authors have been discussed. In order to analyse the accuracies of the published experimental data with the thick-target method in the literature, the contribution of the multiple scattering of incident positrons, from the bremsstrahlung and annihilation photons and other secondary particles to the characteristic X-ray yields has been estimated by means of the Monte Carlo simulation technique in combination with the theoretical integral calculation.