Line Broadening in Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Abstract

The factors causing line broadening in photoelectron spectroscopy are discussed. Experimental results are given for the half-width of the 584 Å helium line emitted from a variety of sources. Typical half-width values lie between 1 and 6.5 mV, which corresponds to 0.027 and 0.18 Å, respectively. Curves are presented showing the contribution of the thermal motion of the photoionized gas to the spread in the energy of the ejected photoelectrons.