Auger effect

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The Auger effect (pronounced /ˈɔːʒɚ/, or Oh' jeh) is a phenomenon in physics in which the emission of an electron from an atom causes the emission of a second electron.^[1] When an electron is removed from a core level of an atom, leaving a vacancy, an electron from a higher energy level may fall into the vacancy, resulting in a release of energy. Although sometimes this energy is released in the form of an emitted photon, the energy can also be transferred to another electron, which is ejected from the atom. This second ejected electron is called an Auger electron.^[2]

Upon ejection the kinetic energy of the Auger electron corresponds to the difference between the energy of the initial electronic transition and the ionization energy for the electron shell from which the Auger electron was ejected. These energy levels depend on the type of atom and the chemical environment in which the atom was located. Auger electron spectroscopy involves the emission of Auger electrons by bombarding a sample with either X-rays or energetic electrons and measures the intensity of Auger electrons as a function of the Auger electron energy. The resulting spectra can be used to determine the identity of the emitting atoms and some information about their environment. Auger recombination is a similar Auger effect which occurs in semiconductors. An electron and electron hole (electron-hole pair) can recombine giving up their energy to an electron in the conduction band, increasing its energy. The reverse effect is known as impact ionization.

The name "Auger effect" comes from one of its discoverers, Pierre Victor Auger, and not from the similarly-named device, the auger.

[edit] Discovery

The Auger emission process was discovered in the 1920s by Lise Meitner, an Austrian physicist. The Auger effect was discovered in 1925 by Pierre Victor Auger upon analysis of a Wilson cloud chamber experiment. High energy X-rays were applied to ionize gas particles and observe photoelectric electrons. Observation of electron tracks independent of the frequency of the incident photon energy suggested a mechanism for electron ionization that was caused from an internal conversion of energy of from a radiationless transition. Further investigation and theoretical work showed that the effect was a radiationless effect more than an internal conversion effect by use of elementary quantum mechanics and transition rate and transition probability calculations. (ref 1)