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Bremsstrahlung     

Please note:  wafer level TXRF measurements are no longer available, details on TXRF Home Page.


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Bremsstrahlung radiation is typically emitted by electrons that are decelerating, since it is well known that an accelerating charged particle emits radiation.  In the TXRF process, the initial photoelectrons that are generated from the x-rays are emitted in a distribution shown below.

The photoelectrons that are emitted upwards do not interact with the vacuum, but the electrons that penetrate the silicon bulk will feel a strong interaction with the solid crystal lattice and its electrons.  These electrons lose their energy and therefore emit a continuous spectrum of Bremsstrahlung radiation, with the maximum of this radiation being given by the difference of the initial photon energy and the binding energy of the solid material of interest (which is silicon in our case).  The Bremsstrahlung continuum for our experimental setup is shown in the spectrum below and as can be seen, it dominates the background.

 
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Last modified: January 26, 2007