4/2003 Rev 2 I.2.4 – slide 1 of 9 Session I.2.4 Part I Review of Fundamentals Module 2Basic Physics and Mathematics Used in Radiation Protection Session 4Internal Conversion and Auger Electrons IAEA Post Graduate Educational Course Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources
4/2003 Rev 2 I.2.4 – slide 2 of 9 In this session we will discuss the process of Internal Conversion We will also discuss Auger Electrons Overview
4/2003 Rev 2 I.2.4 – slide 3 of 9 Auger Electrons Auger electrons are a special case of Internal Conversion. During the Internal Conversion Process, a gamma photon from the nucleus interacts with and transfers all of its energy to a tightly bound (K-shell) orbital electron. The electron is ejected from the atom with considerable energy, equal to that of the initial gamma photon minus the binding energy.
4/2003 Rev 2 I.2.4 – slide 4 of 9 Auger Electrons characteristic X-rayAuger electron
4/2003 Rev 2 I.2.4 – slide 5 of 9 Auger Electrons E γ = 296 keV E ceK = keV E ceK = keV E ceL3 = keV E ceM = keV BE K-shell = E ceK - E γ = = keV = keV BE L3-shell = E ceL3 - E γ = = keV = keV BE M-shell = E ceM - E γ = = keV
4/2003 Rev 2 I.2.4 – slide 6 of 9 Auger Electrons BE K-shell = E ceK - E γ = = keV = keV BE L3-shell = E ceL3 - E γ = = keV = keV NOTE: gamma, X-ray and electron energies are positive while binding energies are negative K α1 characteristic X-ray = – (- 78.4) = 66.8 keV
4/2003 Rev 2 I.2.4 – slide 7 of 9 Auger Electrons E γ = 296 keV E ceL2 = keV BE L2 = E ceL2 - E γ = = keV = keV BE M = E ceM - E γ = = keV = keV characteristic X-ray (M L) = BE M - BE L2 = BE M - BE L2 = (- 13.3) = 10.6 keV = (- 13.3) = 10.6 keV
4/2003 Rev 2 I.2.4 – slide 8 of 9 Auger Electrons From previous slide: BE M = keV characteristic X-ray (M L) = 10.6 keV Auger electron ejected from the M-shell = 10.6 – 2.7 = 7.9 keV (close to 7.4 keV) (close to 7.4 keV)
4/2003 Rev 2 I.2.4 – slide 9 of 9 Where to Get More Information Cember, H., Johnson, T. E., Introduction to Health Physics, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York (2008) Martin, A., Harbison, S. A., Beach, K., Cole, P., An Introduction to Radiation Protection, 6 th Edition, Hodder Arnold, London (2012) Jelley, N. A., Fundamentals of Nuclear Physics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1990) Firestone, R.B., Baglin, C.M., Frank-Chu, S.Y., Eds., Table of Isotopes (8 th Edition, 1999 update), Wiley, New York (1999)