Absolute cross-section measurements of inner-shell ionization

Cross section ratios for K- and L-shell ionization of thin silver and gold targets by positron and electron impact have been determined at projectile energies of 30–70 keV. The experimental results are confirmed by calculations in plane wave Born approximation (PWBA) which include an electron exchange term and account for the deceleration or acceleration of the incident projectile in the nuclear field of the target atom. We report first absolute cross sections for K- and L-shell ionization of silver and gold targets by lepton impact in the threshold region. We have measured the corresponding cross sections for electron (e^–) impact with an electron gun and the same experimental set-up.