Final-state effects in carbon Auger spectra of transition-metal carbides

The carbon Auger spectra of TiC, VC, and Cr₃{C}₂$ are measured with a resolution of 1.2 eV. Background subtraction is performed and a deconvolution technique is used to remove energy-dependent broadening from the spectra. An analysis of the data in terms of density-of-states calculations, x-ray emission work, and x-ray photoelectron data shows that final-state effects dominate the Auger spectra. For all of the carbides three peaks are identified as spectral terms resulting directly from final-state hole interactions. Other peaks appearing in the Auger spectra can be identified without final-state considerations.