Extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure technique. III. Determination of physical parameters

Abstract

Fourier transforms of extended x-ray-absorption fine structure (EXAFS) give structural information in the vicinity of each kind of atom, separately, in a wide variety of gaseous, liquid, and solid systems. A detailed description of the analysis of EXAFS data is presented including details of the Fourier transform of the data and the extraction of structural and other physical parameters from these transforms. Included in this description are the measurement of interatomic distances, coordination numbers, disorder effects (thermal and structural), energy-dependent electron scattering amplitudes, inelastic mean free paths, and phase shifts. EXAFS spectra of Ge, Cu, and Ge${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ are analyzed in detail. Multiple-scattering effects between atoms are generally found to be small. There are no multiple-scattering effects in the first shell of the Fourier transform. The phase shifts introduced by both the absorbing and surrounding atoms empirically appear to be characteristic of the particular atoms and independent of the surroundings for a given class of material. This is of great practical importance because it indicates that EXAFS can be calibrated by measuring known structures and then used to determine unknown ones.