Measurement of the K_α doublets of Molybdenum

In this measurement we determine the energy separation of the two characteristic x-ray emissions in the K_α doublet of Molybdenum using x-ray diffraction by a Lithium-Fluoride (Li-F) mono-crystal target. The two K_α lines are very close in energy and they appear as a single emission line in most x-ray spectrometry measurements. It requires use of high resolution equipment and looking at higher orders of diffraction interference for a long time to see clearly the separated K_α doublets, K_αlpha-1 (K_α1) and K_α1pha-2 (K_α2) un-ambiguously. It was necessary to do the measurement over a long time because the count rate of the scattered x-rays decreases significantly with increase in the order of interference. But at the same time lines separation shows better at higher orders of interference. According to our measurement the wavelength separation of the K_α doublets is: Δλ = (0.42 ± 0.13) pm. This is consistent with the literature value: Δλ = 0.43 pm. The corresponding energy separation of the two lines, according to this measurement is: ΔE = (0.104 ± 0.032) keV.