Reinvestigation of the M Emission Spectrum of Uranium-92

in: Microscopy and Microanalysis (2011)
Scheffel, Andy; Dellith, Jan; Terborg, Ralf; Wendt, Michael
The M spectrum of the element uranium was reinvestigated by using both high-resolution wavelength dispersive (WD) spectrometry as well as energy dispersive (ED) pectrometry. Thereby we observed relative intensities that deviate from data in the literature. These discrepancies were not only observed for the weak U M lines but also for major lines. By measuring the Ma, b region of the spectrum with a PET crystal in second-order reflection, a sufficient energy resolution was achieved to separate Ma2 (M5N6) from Ma1 (M5N7). The intensity ratio I(M5N6)/I(M5N7) was determined to be approximately 5%, which is in strong contrast to the data tabulated by White and Johnson [White, E.W. & Johnson, G.G. (1970). X-Ray and Absorption Wavelengths and Two-Theta Tables. ASTM Data Series DS37A, 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: American Society for Testing and Materials]. Furthermore M5N7 was clearly observed as the strongest of the M lines that disagrees with data presented by Kleykamp [Kleykamp, H. (1981). Wavelengths of the M X-ray spectra of uranium, neptunium, plutonium, and americium. Z Naturforsch 36a, 1388–1390], who reportedMb (M4N6) as the strongest line. Also, afterWhite and Johnson (1970), the lineM2N4 should be more intense than M3O5 by a factor of 5. Both ourWD and ED spectra show clearly that M3O5 is stronger than M2N4. Altogether, we observed in our WD spectra 26 M lines. In some cases untypical large differences between the line energies given by Bearden [Bearden, J.A. (1967).X-ray wavelengths. Rev Mod Phys 39, 78–124] and measured by us were observed.

Third party cookies & scripts

This site uses cookies. For optimal performance, smooth social media and promotional use, it is recommended that you agree to third party cookies and scripts. This may involve sharing information about your use of the third-party social media, advertising and analytics website.
For more information, see privacy policy and imprint.
Which cookies & scripts and the associated processing of your personal data do you agree with?

You can change your preferences anytime by visiting privacy policy.