Atomic reference / WDS & EPMA
Electron shells and characteristic X-ray energies.
Select an element to explore its occupied electron levels, subshell binding energies, and X-ray emission lines. Connect a line such as Kα₁ to the electron transition that produces it.
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Use the element selector or periodic table. Arrow keys move through atomic numbers; Enter or Space selects a cell. The separated rows contain La–Lu and Ac–Lr.
This verified reference dataset covers hydrogen through fermium (Z = 100). Configurations and energies for this element have not yet been added.
Occupied electron levels
Outer levels at the top · K level at the bottom
Faint, dashed levels: the beam energy is at or below the binding energy. Untabulated binding energies have an unknown threshold.
Characteristic X-ray lines
| Line | Electron transition | Energy (eV) | Overvoltage U | Ref. |
|---|
No resolved energies for these line families are tabulated in this reference selection. This does not imply that no emission is possible.
Hover or focus a line to preview it. Click or tap its row to keep the transition selected; click or tap the same row again to clear it. Choosing another line or element replaces the selection. Arrows show the electron moving into an inner-shell vacancy; the emitted photon carries the transition energy. Numbered references link to the publications listed below.
Publications for these line energies
Publication details are identified from the handbook’s bibliography, with corrections cross-checked against publisher metadata and the NIST reference list. Values remain the entries transcribed from the handbook.
Data sources, notation, and interpretation
Electron configurations, binding energies, and resolved line energies are transcribed from chapter 5 of Günter Zschornack’s Handbook of X-Ray Data (Springer, 2007), supplied for this project. H and He use the neutral-atom ionization energies in table 2.8. Element names and symbols through Z = 103 were cross-checked against the supplied EMAS dataset.
This reference selects common resolved K, L, and M lines; it is not an exhaustive transition database. It uses the first bibliographically tagged energy entry for each selected transition or subshell in the handbook. The compilation contains different experimental and theoretical sources. Hover an energy value to see its tabulated uncertainty when supplied. Energies are not calculated by subtracting the displayed binding energies, and rounded level values need not reproduce a line energy exactly.
K = 1s₁/₂; L₁ = 2s₁/₂; L₂ = 2p₁/₂; L₃ = 2p₃/₂. The same sequence continues for M, N, and outer shells. The fraction is the electron’s total angular momentum j. Closed p, d, and f orbitals have 2/4, 4/6, and 6/8 electrons in their two j levels. For an open orbital, only its combined electron count is specified: the two lines do not assert separate integer populations. Completely empty orbitals are omitted.
Binding energies, especially for valence levels, depend on the material and reference convention. Neutral configurations describe isolated atoms; X-ray emission follows vacancy creation and relaxation. Use the NIST transition-energy reference when assessing calibration values and uncertainties. Explore Virtual WDS features and the Ti/V interference example to connect atomic lines with analytical method development.