The structure of theL 2,3 VV-auger line of silicon and silicon compounds

TheL _2,3 VV Auger transitions of Si, SiO₂, and SiC have been measured and compared with the self-fold electron density of states. The data indicate that Auger matrix effects must be included to explain the structure of the Auger lines. A comparison with soft X-ray measurements of Wiech shows, that the measured Auger line shape is nearly identical with the self-foldK _β emission band. The selection rules for X-ray emission lead then to the conclusion that mostlyp-like valence electrons are involved in the Auger transition. This result indicates the relative importance ofs andp states in Auger transitions which is in accordance with theoretical calculations of Feibelman et al.