Core-type auger lines

The interaction of an electron with an atom gives rise to two types of X-rays characteristic emission lines and bremsstrahlung. The atom emits element-characteristic X-rays when the incident electron ejects a bound electron from an atomic orbital. The core-ionized atom is highly unstable and has two possibilities for decay X-ray fluorescence and Auger decay. The first is the basis for electron microprobe analysis, and the second is the basis of Auger electron spectroscopy, discussed in Chapter 3. 

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