Vacancy cascade spectroscopy: A convenient method of studying highly ionized atoms and molecules

Abstract

Vacancy cascades have been created in gas jets of He, N 2, O 2, CO 2, Cl 2 and Xe by bombardment with a monoenergetic beam of 2–10 keV electrons. The resulting spectra, observed at 500 – 2500 Å are comparable to beam-foil spectra, but have several orders of magnitude higher intensity, with a broad distribution of ionization stages. This technique can be used to measure atomic and molecular lifetimes, and other applications are discussed as well.