X-ray yields from high-energy heavy ions channeled through a crystal: their crystal thickness and projectile dependences

X-rays emitted from Ar¹⁷⁺, Fe²⁴⁺ and Kr³⁵⁺ ions of about 400 MeV/u transmitting through a thin Si crystal of about 20 μm thickness have been measured in a planar channeling condition and compared with those in a random incident condition. We have found that the X-ray yield from Ar¹⁷⁺ ions is larger for the channeling condition than for the random incidence, while those from Fe²⁴⁺ and Kr³⁵⁺ ions are rather smaller. Such tendencies are explained by considering the projectile dependences of excitation and ionization probabilities together with X-ray emission rates. A crude simulation has qualitatively reproduced these experimental results. When the crystal thickness is small, the X-ray yield is smaller in the channeling condition than in the random incident condition, because excitation is depressed. However, for thicker crystals, the X-ray yield is larger, since the survived population of projectile-bound electrons is larger due to small ionization probabilities under the channeling condition. This inversion occurs at a specific crystal thickness depending on projectile species. Whether the thickness of the used crystal is smaller or larger than the inversion thickness determines enhancement or depression of the X-ray yield in the channeling condition.