A new X-ray spectrometer for high-resolution Compton profile measurements at SPring-8

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid-State Physics
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Compton profile measurements provide insights into electron momentum distribution within materials.
• High-resolution measurements are crucial for detailed electronic structure analysis.
• Existing X-ray spectrometer technology has limitations in resolution and efficiency for certain materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and construct a novel X-ray spectrometer for high-resolution Compton profile measurements.
• To achieve a resolution of 0.10 atomic units in electron momentum.
• To demonstrate the capability of measuring Compton profiles in heavy-element materials.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Cauchois-type triply layered bent-crystal analyzer for energy analysis.
• Employed a novel solid-state detector with a large active area as a position-sensitive detector.
• Operated the spectrometer with 90-120 keV X-rays, specifically at 115 keV for measurements.

Main Results:

• Achieved a high resolution of 0.10 atomic units in electron momentum at 115 keV incident X-ray energy.
• Successfully measured the Compton profile of a single crystal of Niobium (Nb).
• Demonstrated a counting rate of 30 counts s-1 at the Compton peak for Nb.

Conclusions:

• The developed X-ray spectrometer meets the requirements for high-resolution Compton profile measurements.
• The novel detector and analyzer combination enables efficient and accurate data acquisition.
• The spectrometer is capable of analyzing the electronic structure of heavy-element materials.