Rare-Earth N_4,5 Emission Spectra of Some Rare-Earth Hexaborides

Abstract

The rare-earth N_4,5 emission spectra of PrB₆ and NdB₆ were measured to investigate the 4f states. These spectra show some emission peaks above and below the one-electron 4d threshold. The emission spectra are compared with existing results of absorption and resonant photoemission. Comparison shows that the emission spectra are composed of two types of 4f→4d emission processes, 4d⁹4fⁿ→4d¹⁰4fⁿ⁻¹+hν and 4d⁹4fⁿ⁺¹→4d¹⁰4fⁿ+hν′, where n is the number of 4f electrons in the ground state. The intensity of the 4f→4d emission is estimated for light rare-earth hexaborides. This result suggests that the intensity of the 4f→4d emission is weaker than the 5p→4d emission.