High Energy Synchrotron Radiation and Its Impact on Characterizing Nanoparticles

Abstract

High-energy synchrotron radiation does not have a clear and generally accepted definition. Its unique characteristic is the high penetration into material, and it depends on what is regarded as high penetration – millimeter or centimeter – and in what material, lightweight or comprising heavy atoms. For practical reasons which find their ways into special constructional solutions, one can regard the X-ray regime between 50 and 150 keV as high-energy synchrotron radiation, thus a wavelength regime 0.08–0.24 Å. A look into the literature reveals a penetration of several 100 μm up to centimeters into most materials [ 1]. Table 1 lists the penetration depths (intensity falling off to e −1) of some materials in the aforementioned energy regime.