Carbon K-shell excitation in small molecules by high-resolution electron impact

Abstract

The excitation of 1s carbon electrons has been observed in CO, CH 4 , CF 4 , CO 2 , COS, C 2 H 2 and C 2 H 4 by means of the electron energy-loss technique with high resolution (70 meV in the 300 eV excitation energy range) and at an incident electron energy of 1.5 keV. The energies, widths and vibrational structures of excited states corresponding to the promotion of 1s carbon electrons to unoccupied valence and Rydberg orbitals have been obtained. The validity of the equivalent-core model, and the role of resonances caused by potential barriers, are discussed.