Characteristic x-ray production by electron bombardment of argon, krypton, and xenon from 4 to 10 keV

As part of an experiment to study atomic-field bremsstrahlung produced by electron bombardment of rare-gas atoms in the 4- to 10-keV energy range, we have determined the characteristic x-ray production cross section for the K shell of argon and the L shells of krypton and xenon. We compare our results for the inner-shell ionization cross section with the Bethe theory, the plane-wave Born approximation of McGuire, and the classical binary encounter theory as well as with previous experiments. Using the observed validity of classical scaling over this energy range, and the known average K-shell fluorescence yield for argon, we have determined the average L-shell fluorescence yield for xenon and krypton.