L X-ray emission induced by heavy ions

Abstract Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique is usually applied using typically 1 MeV to 3 MeV protons or helium ions, for which the ion-atom interaction is dominated by the single ionization process. For heavier ions the multiple ionization plays an increasingly important role and this process can influence substantially both the X-ray spectra and atomic decay rates. Additionally, the subshell coupling effects are important for the L- and M-shells ionized by heavy ions. Here we discuss the main features of the X-ray emission induced by heavy ions which are important for PIXE applications, namely, the effects of X-ray line shifts and broadening, vacancy rearrangement and change of the fluorescence and Coster–Kronig yields in multiple ionized atoms. These effects are illustrated here by the results of the measurements of L X-ray emission from heavy atoms bombarded by 6 MeV to 36 MeV Si ions, which were reported earlier. The strong L-subshell coupling effects are observed, in particular L 2 -subshell, which can be accounted for within the coupling subshell model (CSM) developed within the semiclassical approximation. Finally, the prospects to use heavy ions in PIXE analysis are discussed.