The L2,3- MM auger-electron spectrum of Zn metal: influence of correlation effects

Abstract

The L 2,3 - MM Auger-electron spectrum of zinc in the metal has been analysed in the light of state-of-the-art atomic calculations for Auger energies and intensities because of its atomic character. It is shown that, not only configuration interaction and ground-state correlation, but also super Coster-Kronig (sCK) fluctuation and decay processes in the final ionic state of the Auger transition have to be taken into account to get better agreement with experiment. It is suggested that the slight remaining discrepancies can be accounted for by a full treatment of sCK processes which lead, for instance, to multiplet level dependent energy shifts.