Resonant Auger-decay process in solidSiO2at the Si 1sedge

Abstract
The Auger-decay processes in solid SiO2 after resonant and off-resonant excitations around the Si 1s edge have been investigated using synchrotron radiation. It was found that the Si KL2,3 L2,3 Auger line splits into two peaks when the photon energy is close to that of the Si 1s→3p resonance. These two peaks are ascribed to the normal and resonant Auger-decay processes. It was also observed that the resonant Auger peak is shifted to higher energy in proportion to the photon energy. The resonant Auger peak is attributed to the spectator Auger decay following the Si 1s→3p excitation. The energy shift of the resonant Auger electron is interpreted in terms of the energy transfer from the excited electron in the conduction band to the Auger electron in the course of the Auger-decay process.