XAFS.ORG¶
XAFS.ORG is a community site for x-ray absorption fine-structure (XAFS) and related spectroscopies. It is part of the web pages sponsored by the International XAFS Society, https://xrayabsorption.org/.
XAFS, EXAFS, and XANES¶
XAFS is a spectroscopic technique that uses the absorption of X-rays to probe the physical and chemical structure of matter at an atomic scale. X-ray absorption spectroscopy is element-specific, in that X-rays are chosen to be at and above the binding energy of a particular core electronic level of a particular atomic species. Because all but the lightest elements have core-level binding energies in the X-ray regime, nearly all elements can be studied with XAFS. Traditionally, the emphasis has been on the heavier elements (of Z>15 or so), but applications to lighter elements are also possible.
An energy-tunable X-ray source is needed to measure XAFS. This typically means that a synchrotron source is used, but some laboratory-based systems do exist.
See Acronyms and Terms for X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy are a list and brief discussion of the many variations on the terms and acronymy used to describe X-ray absorption spectroscopy.
More information about XAFS can related methods can be found on the pages.