Semi-empirical parameterization of HI/p L-shell X-ray production cross section ratios in Bi for Heavy Ion PIXE.

Quantitative analysis of materials from Heavy Ion PIXE spectra remains impeded by the lack of reliable X-ray production cross section (XPCS) data. Although efforts at experimental Heavy Ion induced XPCS measurements still continue, Multiple Ionisation (MI) effects, which are not fully described by theory, render simulations of heavy ion PIXE data unreliable for large Z/Z collisions, especially at low energies. This is also exacerbated by the random selection of projectile-target combinations for measured and reported experimental data available to validate theory.