Experimental determination of the sodium K-shell atomic fundamental parameters for X-ray spectroscopy

TL;DR

This paper provides updated experimental sodium K-shell fundamental parameters, including fluorescence yield, photoionization cross sections, and Auger yields, with reduced uncertainties to improve X-ray fluorescence analysis accuracy.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive experimental approach to determine sodium K-shell parameters with reliable uncertainties, significantly improving upon existing database values.

Findings

New sodium K-shell parameters with lower uncertainties

Enhanced accuracy for sodium X-ray fluorescence analysis

Data openly available for scientific and industrial use

Abstract

Reliable fundamental parameters are essential for accurate X-ray fluorescence analysis of sodium. This work presents updated experimental values with reliable uncertainties for sodium K-shell fundamental parameters such as: fluorescence yield, photoionization cross sections, and Auger yields. Using a physically calibrated setup and a thin NaCl layer on a silicon nitride membrane, a holistic determination approach was applied to reduce uncertainties. The new values represent a significant improvement on the ones widely used in databases. All data are available via Zenodo to support precise sodium quantification in scientific and industrial applications.