Measurements of Coster–Kronig enhancement factors of some elements in the atomic number range 66 ≤ Z ≤ 72

The Lι, Lα, Lβ and Lγ x‐ray production cross‐sections in four elements with Z ranging from 66 to 72 at seven different energies in the interval 8.265–11.730 keV were measured. Experimental measurements were carried out on a few elemental samples to examine the effect of Coster–Kronig transitions on fluorescence cross‐sections for the L x‐ray line using an Si(Li) detector system with an energy resolution of 160 eV at 5.96 keV x‐ray energy. Absolute values of L x‐ray cross‐sections were calculated with incorporation of the enhancement due to the Coster–Kronig effect for these elements. The measured enhancement factors are smaller than predicted by theory. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.