X-ray natural circular dichroism in copper metaborate

The local electronic structure of copper ions in a copper metaborate CuB₂O₄ crystal is studied on the ESRF synchrotron using X-ray absorption polarization-dependent spectroscopy. The X-ray natural circular dichroism near the K absorption edge of copper is measured in the direction that is perpendicular to crystal axis c. The data obtained indicate the presence of hybridized p–d electronic states of copper. Theoretical calculations are used to separate the contributions of the two crystallographically nonequivalent positions of copper atoms in the unit cell of CuB₂O₄ to the absorption and X-ray circular dichroism spectra of the crystal.