Incoherent Scattering of Electrons and Linewidth of Planar-Channeling Radiation

A theoretical description of planar-channeling radiation is given, with special emphasis on the scattering processes contributing to the radiation linewidth. Owing to coherence between scattering in the initial and final states for the radiation process, the contribution to the linewidth from processes with small momentum transfer (e.g., plasmon excitation) is strongly suppressed, and the linewidth is dominated by thermal interband scattering. Also contributions from nonsystematic reflections and from finite crystal thickness are evaluated. Experimentally, planarchanneling radiation has been studied for 4 MeV electrons in nickel, at different target temperatures, and the radiation energies and linewidths confirm the predictions. The influence of correlation of vibrations is revealed by a variation of the linewidth with the angle to a major axis in the plane. The radiation intensity as a function of incidence angle to the plane is strongly modified by multiple interband scattering, and a comparison between measured and calculated intensities serves as a further check on the theoretical treatment.