Polarization dependence in the X-ray absorption spectrum of zinc fluoride

X-ray absorption spectra of a single crystal of zinc fluoride have been measured at and above the K-edge of zinc using synchrotron radiation. Observations were made for X-ray electric-field-vector polarizations parallel and perpendicular to the crystal c 0 axis. A quantitative analysis of the EXAFS and a qualitative analysis of the ‘white line’ are shown to be in general agreement with the known crystal structure. EXAFS results show that anisotropies in bond lengths of 0·03 Å between the two polarizations may be easily resolved. Atomic EXAFS and white-line anisotropies indicate that the local potential at the zinc absorbing site is not spherically symmetric.