Investigation of the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) at L-edges of heavy elements

Using the synchrotron radiation of the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, the extended X-ray absorption fine structure at the L-edges of Au has been investigated. The magnitudes of the Fourier transforms of the L I and the L III fine structures yield maxima in real space showing a splitting which is the same for both edges. This splitting is attributed to the oscillatory behaviour of the back-scattering amplitude of the photoelectron wave, which is characteristic for heavy scattering atoms. Only transitions to d-symmetric final states contribute significantly to the L II and L III absorption.