Soft x-ray emission spectroscopy

Soft x-ray emission spectroscopy is an experimental technique for determining the electronic structure of materials. It is a form of x-ray spectroscopy.

X-ray Emission Spectroscopy (XES) provides a means of probing the partial occupied density of electronic states of a material. XES is element-specific and site-specific, making it a powerful tool for determining detailed electronic properties of materials.

Emission spectroscopy can take the form of either resonant inelastic x-ray emission spectroscopy (RIXS) or non-resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy (NXES). Both spectroscopies involve the photonic promotion of a core level electron, and the measurement of the fluorescence that occurs as the electron relaxes into a lower-energy state. The differences between resonant and non-resonant excitation arise from the state of the atom before fluorescence occurs.

In resonant excitation the core electron is promoted to a bound state in the conduction band. Non-resonant excitation occurs when the incoming radiation promotes a core electron to the continuum. When a core hole is created in this way, it is possible for it to be refilled through one of several different decay paths. Each of the peaks in Fig. 1 corresponds to a different decay path. Because the core hole is refilled from the sample’s high-energy free states, the decay and emission processes must be treated as separate dipole transitions. This is in contrast with RIXS, where the events are coupled, and must be treated as a single scattering process.

Soft x-rays have different optical properties than visible light and therefore experiments must take place in ultra high vacuum, where the photon beam is manipulated using special mirrors and diffraction gratings.

Gratings diffract each energy or wavelength present in the incoming radiation in a different direction. Grating monochromators allow the user the select the specific photon energy they wish to use to excite the sample. Diffraction gratings are also used in the spectrometer to analyze the photon energy of the radiation emitted by the sample.