Target-atom inner-shell vacancy distributions created in collisions with heavy ion projectiles

A model of the evolution of Cu atom inner-shell electron configurations was developed in order to establish the relationship between the original populations created in K-vacancy producing collisions with fast heavy-ion projectiles and those that exist at the time of Cu K and Kβ X-ray emission. The model takes into account multi-step vacancy rearrangement processes that may occur prior to K X-ray emission. An iterative procedure is employed in which a set of trial parameters that define the original inner-shell population distributions are varied to obtain satisfactory agreement of the calculated K satellite relative intensities and energies, as well as the overall intensity ratio of Kβ satellites to K satellites, with the experimental data. In addition to deducing the properties of the original L- and M-shell population distribution, this procedure also provides the average value of the fluorescence yield for conversion between X-ray and K-vacancy production cross sections.