X-ray Extended Range Technique Research Articles

X-ray mass attenuation coefficient of silicon: theory versus experiment.

We compare new experimental x-ray total mass attenuation coefficients of silicon obtained with the x-ray extended-range technique (XERT) from 5 to 20 keV with theoretical calculations and earlier experimental measurements over a 5 to 50 keV energy range. The accuracy of between 0.27% and 0.5% of the XERT data allows us to probe alternate atomic and solid state wave function calculations and to test dominant scattering mechanisms. Discrepancies between experimental results and theoretical computations of the order of 5% are discussed in detail. No single theoretical computation is currently able to reproduce the experimental results over the entire 5 to 50 keV energy range investigated.

Measurement of the x-ray mass attenuation coefficient and the imaginary part of the form factor of silicon using synchrotron radiation

We used the x-ray extended-range technique to measure the x-ray mass attenuation coefficients of silicon with an accuracy between 0.27% and 0.5% in the $5\mathrm{keV}\ensuremath{-}20\mathrm{keV}$ energy range. Subtraction of the x-ray scattering contribution enabled us to derive the corresponding x-ray photoelectric absorption coefficients and determine the absolute value of the imaginary part of the atomic form factor of silicon. Discrepancies between the experimental values of the mass attenuation coefficients and theoretically calculated values are discussed. New approaches to the theoretical calculation will be required to match the precision and accuracy of the experimental results.

X-ray extended-range technique for precision measurement of the X-ray mass attenuation coefficient and IM(F) for molybdenum using synchrotron radiation

X-ray extended-range technique for precision measurement of the X-ray mass attenuation coefficient and IM(F) for molybdenum using synchrotron radiation

Measurement of the x-ray mass attenuation coefficient of copper using 8.85–20 keV synchrotron radiation

This work presents the x-ray extended range technique for measuring x-ray mass attenuation coefficients. This technique includes the use of multiple foil attenuators at each energy investigated, allowing independent tests of detector linearity and of the harmonic contributions to the monochromated synchrotron beam. Measurements over a wide energy range allow the uncertainty of local foil thickness to be minimized by the calibration of thin sample measurements to those of thick samples. The use of an extended criterion for sample thickness selection allows direct determination of dominant systematics, with an improvement of accuracies compared to previous measurements by up to factors of 20. Resulting accuracies for attenuation coefficients of copper ~8.84 to 20 keV! are 0.27‐0.5 %, with reproducibility of 0.02%. We also extract the imaginary component of the form factor from the data with the same accuracy. Results are compared to theoretical calculations near and away from the absorption edge. The accuracy challenges available theoretical calculations, and observed discrepancies of 10% between current theory and experiments can now be addressed.

X-ray extended-range technique for precision measurement of the X-ray mass attenuation coefficient and Im( f) for copper using synchrotron radiation

We reconsider the long-standing problem of accurate measurement of atomic form factors for fundamental and applied problems. We discuss the X-ray extended-range technique for accurate measurement of the mass attenuation coefficient and the imaginary component of the atomic form factor. Novelties of this approach include the use of a synchrotron with detector normalisation, the direct calibration of dominant systematics using multiple thicknesses, and measurement over wide energy ranges with a resulting improvement of accuracies by an order of magnitude. This new technique achieves accuracies of 0.27–0.5% and reproducibility of 0.02% for attenuation of copper from 8.84 to 20 keV, compared to accuracies of 10% using atomic vapours. This precision challenges available theoretical calculations. Discrepancies of 10% between current theory and experiments can now be addressed.