Solid-state effects in M4,5N4,5N4,5 Auger spectra of elements from In49 to Te52

The ${M}_{4,5}{N}_{4,5}{N}_{4,5}$ Auger electron spectra have been measured for the elements from $_{49}\mathrm{In}$ to $_{52}\mathrm{Te}$ in solid phases and compared with the same transitions in vapor phases. The linewidths are found to be broadened in the solids by the amount of 0.5-0.9 eV compared to the estimated widths of the atomic $3d$ levels. The lines are shifted toward higher kinetic energies by 7-12 eV while the relative energies and intensities of the component lines remain essentially the same for vapor and solid phases of the same element. The experimental extra-atomic relaxation energies are determined from the observed line shifts and compared with theoretical relaxation energies calculated within the framework of a simplified model where screening electrons are assumed to occupy the first unfilled atomic orbitals. All the main features in the spectra can be interpreted as due to multiplet splitting of the two-hole final-state configuration. Therefore, quasiatomic rather than bandlike descriptions of the final states seem to be correct for these transitions.