Ion-excitedKαx-ray satellite spectra of Si, S, Cl, and Ar in the gas phase

Abstract

The $K\ensuremath{\alpha}$ satellite spectra of Si in the gases Si${\mathrm{H}}_{4}$ and Si${\mathrm{F}}_{4}$, of S in the gases ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$S, S${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$, and S${\mathrm{F}}_{6}$, of Cl in the gases HCl and ${\mathrm{Cl}}_{2}$ and in the liquid C${\mathrm{Cl}}_{4}$, and of gaseous Ar produced by bombardment with oxygen ions were examined in detail and compared with the spectra of solid compounds obtained in a previous study. It was found that the apparent average state of $L$-shell ionization at the time of $K\ensuremath{\alpha}$ x-ray emission does not depend upon the physical state, but upon the availability of electrons from nearest-neighbor atoms. The $K\ensuremath{\alpha}$ satellite energies in conjunction with Hartree-Fock calculations provide a measure of the average numbers of missing $M$-shell electrons, and this information further supports the conclusion that interatomic electron transfer dominates the fast rearrangement occurring prior to $K\ensuremath{\alpha}$ x-ray emission in atoms having highly depleted $M$ shells. Various $K\ensuremath{\alpha}$ satellite peak-broadening mechanisms were considered and it was found that broadening due to the distribution of $M$-shell vacancies accounts for a significant portion of the total peak width.