Theory of Detection of X-Rays by Superconductors

1997 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 849-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Murali Krishna ◽  
Lydia S. Lingam ◽  
Keshav N. Shrivastava

Two new processes occur in a superconducting film when it is used as a detector of X-rays. One of these processes is the scattering of the X-ray by a single electron which gives rise to the broadening of the X-ray line. Another process describes the breaking of a Cooper pair by the X-ray which also contributes to the width of the X-ray. The line arising from the single electron process depends on T4 whereas that arising from the pair breaking process varies almost as T6 at low temperatures. Lines occur at ℏωq ± 2Δ, and at ℏωq where ℏωq is the energy of the X-ray and 2Δ is the gap of the superconductor.

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Coome ◽  
A. E. Goeta ◽  
J. A. K. Howard ◽  
M. R. Probert

X-ray diffraction experiments at very low temperatures require samples to be isolated from atmospheric conditions and held under vacuum. These conditions are usually maintainedviathe use of beryllium chambers, which also scatter X-rays, causing unwanted contamination of the sample's diffraction pattern. The removal of this contamination requires novel data-collection and processing procedures to be employed. Herein a new approach is described, which utilizes the differences in origin of scattering vectors from the sample and the beryllium to eliminate non-sample scattering. The programMasqueradehas been written to remove contaminated regions of the diffraction data from the processing programs. Coupled with experiments at different detector distances, it allows for the acquisition of decontaminated data. Studies of several single crystals have shown that this approach increases data quality, highlighted by the improvement in internal agreement factor with the test case of cytidine presented herein.


1939 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Harold Smith ◽  
Charles Proffer Saylor

Abstract At suitable, low temperatures, unvulcanized rubber loses its elasticity and becomes hard and opaque. Similar changes frequently occur in baled rubber which has been tightly compressed before shipment. It is said to be frozen or “boardy.” The phenomenon has been studied by many investigators who have determined changes of volume, softening temperatures, the effects of increasing time of storage at low temperatures, the influence of pressure during freezing, and changes in heat capacity and entropy. These effects have generally been ascribed to a form of crystallization, and x-ray diffraction powder patterns indicate that crystals are present in frozen rubber. When total rubber is stretched, there are changes of volume and of heat content such as attend crystallization. With x-rays a crystal fiber pattern is obtained. It and the powder pattern obtained with frozen, compact rubber have been shown to indicate similar spacings and are assumed to be caused by the same type of crystal, the differences being ascribed to conditions of orientation. Dilute solutions of rubber hydrocarbon in ethyl ether yield small crystals of the hydrocarbon when they are subjected to temperatures between −35° and − 60° C. for several hours. The optical properties and melting points of these crystals and their x-ray diffraction patterns indicate their identity with the crystals in stretched and frozen rubber. Under the best conditions the crystals appear in spherulitic groupings, the individual needles in each spherulite having optical properties that closely approach those of a uniaxial crystal with negative elongation. The crystals of sol rubber which we obtained, melted between 9.5° and 11.0° C. Crystals of gel rubber melted between −2° and 14° C., but the melting ranges within this interval were not the same for all samples. Numerous observations have repeatedly confirmed the data. About 90 per cent of the rubber in solution may be obtained as birefringent material at −65° C. Temperatures between −40° and −50° C. have been preferred, however, because better crystals are obtained in that range.


1. The present paper may be divided into two parts. In the first, some experiments on the intensity of reflexion of X-rays by rock-salt crystals at low temperatures are described. The results of these experiments, when combined with data obtained previously at high temperatures, are compared with the theoretical formulæ of Debye and Waller for the temperature factor of X-ray reflexion. In the second part of the paper we have attempted to get some idea of the actual amplitude of the heat-motions of the atoms in the rock-salt lattice, by analysing the F curves, or curves showing the variation of the atomic scattering power with angle of scattering, using the method of Fourier analysis introduced by Duane and Havighurst, so as to obtain the distribution of electrons in the crystal unit at different temperatures. In connection with this work a new set of absolute determinations of intensity of reflexion has been made, and, from these, the F factors at different temperatures have been calculated, using the results of the experiments described in the first part of the paper.


It is shown that the quantum theory of X -ray reflexion and scattering in crystals developed in Part I is in full accord with the experimental facts. The theory succeeds in giving a quantitative explanation of the experimental facts concerning these phenomena as observed with diamond, viz. (1) the specular character of the quantum reflexion from the (111) planes, (2) the geometric law of such reflexion and especially the fact that, in general, the reflexion falls outside the plane of incidence, (3) the subsidiary features accompanying the reflexion, viz. faint elliptic spots and elongated streamers noticed in certain special cases, (4) the absolute intensity of the reflexion which is an appreciable fraction of the intensity of the classical reflexion, (5) the failure of the (110) planes to exhibit similar reflexions, (6) the persistence of the reflexions by the (111) planes with undiminished intensity at liquid air temperature and the relatively small increase of intensity at high temperatures, and (7) the appearance of a diffuse scattering having an undiminished intensity at low temperatures. The differences between diamond and other crystals in respect of these X -ray phenomena are explained by taking into consideration the differences in the frequency and character of their lattice vibrations in the infra-red region as revealed by the spectroscope.


2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (8) ◽  
pp. 821-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Tawara ◽  
P Richard ◽  
U I Safronova ◽  
A A Vasilyev ◽  
M Stockli

M X-rays have been observed from 1–40 keV/u 181Taq+ (q = 45–49) ions colliding with neutral Ar atoms under single collisions. The most dominant X-rays have been found to be due to transitions of 4p–3d and 4f–3d when the projectiles bring 3d-shell vacancies into collisions. Though much weaker, M X-rays also have been observed in collisions with Ta45+ ions that initially have no 3d-shell vacancy and are understood to originate from transitions of the doubly excited states 3d9nln'l' formed through strong electron–electron interactions after single-electron capture. The observed M X-ray spectra have been compared and reproduced nicely with the synthesized spectra. It has been confirmed that transitions of such doubly excited states also contribute to X-rays at the lower energy region observed even for higher charge ions with 3d vacancies. PACS Nos.: 32.30Rj, 32.70Cs, 32.80Rm, 34.70+e


1994 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
E. Hildner

AbstractOver the last twenty years, orbiting coronagraphs have vastly increased the amount of observational material for the whitelight corona. Spanning almost two solar cycles, and augmented by ground-based K-coronameter, emission-line, and eclipse observations, these data allow us to assess,inter alia: the typical and atypical behavior of the corona; how the corona evolves on time scales from minutes to a decade; and (in some respects) the relation between photospheric, coronal, and interplanetary features. This talk will review recent results on these three topics. A remark or two will attempt to relate the whitelight corona between 1.5 and 6 R⊙to the corona seen at lower altitudes in soft X-rays (e.g., with Yohkoh). The whitelight emission depends only on integrated electron density independent of temperature, whereas the soft X-ray emission depends upon the integral of electron density squared times a temperature function. The properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) will be reviewed briefly and their relationships to other solar and interplanetary phenomena will be noted.


Author(s):  
R. H. Duff

A material irradiated with electrons emits x-rays having energies characteristic of the elements present. Chemical combination between elements results in a small shift of the peak energies of these characteristic x-rays because chemical bonds between different elements have different energies. The energy differences of the characteristic x-rays resulting from valence electron transitions can be used to identify the chemical species present and to obtain information about the chemical bond itself. Although these peak-energy shifts have been well known for a number of years, their use for chemical-species identification in small volumes of material was not realized until the development of the electron microprobe.


Author(s):  
E. A. Kenik ◽  
J. Bentley

Cliff and Lorimer (1) have proposed a simple approach to thin foil x-ray analy sis based on the ratio of x-ray peak intensities. However, there are several experimental pitfalls which must be recognized in obtaining the desired x-ray intensities. Undesirable x-ray induced fluorescence of the specimen can result from various mechanisms and leads to x-ray intensities not characteristic of electron excitation and further results in incorrect intensity ratios.In measuring the x-ray intensity ratio for NiAl as a function of foil thickness, Zaluzec and Fraser (2) found the ratio was not constant for thicknesses where absorption could be neglected. They demonstrated that this effect originated from x-ray induced fluorescence by blocking the beam with lead foil. The primary x-rays arise in the illumination system and result in varying intensity ratios and a finite x-ray spectrum even when the specimen is not intercepting the electron beam, an ‘in-hole’ spectrum. We have developed a second technique for detecting x-ray induced fluorescence based on the magnitude of the ‘in-hole’ spectrum with different filament emission currents and condenser apertures.


Author(s):  
W. Brünger

Reconstructive tomography is a new technique in diagnostic radiology for imaging cross-sectional planes of the human body /1/. A collimated beam of X-rays is scanned through a thin slice of the body and the transmitted intensity is recorded by a detector giving a linear shadow graph or projection (see fig. 1). Many of these projections at different angles are used to reconstruct the body-layer, usually with the aid of a computer. The picture element size of present tomographic scanners is approximately 1.1 mm2.Micro tomography can be realized using the very fine X-ray source generated by the focused electron beam of a scanning electron microscope (see fig. 2). The translation of the X-ray source is done by a line scan of the electron beam on a polished target surface /2/. Projections at different angles are produced by rotating the object.During the registration of a single scan the electron beam is deflected in one direction only, while both deflections are operating in the display tube.


Author(s):  
L. T. Germinario

Understanding the role of metal cluster composition in determining catalytic selectivity and activity is of major interest in heterogeneous catalysis. The electron microscope is well established as a powerful tool for ultrastructural and compositional characterization of support and catalyst. Because the spatial resolution of x-ray microanalysis is defined by the smallest beam diameter into which the required number of electrons can be focused, the dedicated STEM with FEG is the instrument of choice. The main sources of errors in energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDS) are: (1) beam-induced changes in specimen composition, (2) specimen drift, (3) instrumental factors which produce background radiation, and (4) basic statistical limitations which result in the detection of a finite number of x-ray photons. Digital beam techniques have been described for supported single-element metal clusters with spatial resolutions of about 10 nm. However, the detection of spurious characteristic x-rays away from catalyst particles produced images requiring several image processing steps.


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