XAFS spectra from X‐ray fluorescence Kβ line using conventional energy‐discriminating detector

Abstract

X‐ray fluorescence spectra of copper (Cu) metal, copper monoxide (CuO), and potassium chromate (K2CrO4) were recorded as a function of incident X‐ray energy near the Cu K‐edge and chromium (Cr) K‐edge, respectively, using a conventional silicon drift detector. The spectra contained components due to elastic, inelastic, and multiple scattering, in addition to the Kα and Kβ lines. Cu and Cr K‐edge X‐ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectra of Cu, CuO, and K2CrO4 were obtained by an intensity analysis of the Kα and Kβ lines. The intensity of the Kβ line for the different incident photon energies was obtained by numerically removing the additional scattering components using the MUSCAT program. These spectra exhibited a jump near the K absorption edges, which reproduced the spectral features obtained in transmission mode for both Cu, CuO, and K2CrO4. A chemical shift was also clearly identified in the X‐ray absorption near edges structure using the X‐ray fluorescence Kβ line. In addition, the Cr K‐edge extended XAFS spectrum of K2CrO4 was clearly observed using the Cr Kβ fluorescent line. The XAFS measurements on the Kα and Kβ lines are possible, and they carry equally valuable information.