Line width

EMISSION BROADENING AND LINEWIDTH DUE

TO RADIATIVE DECAY
Line width broadening is associated with the characteristic decay
time of the radiating levels, as well as with other emission-line-
broadening mechanisms.

Classical Emission Line width of a Radiating Electron

The decaying electric field component of the electromagnetic
wave cannot be represented by a single pure frequency ₀.
The frequency components of the wave represented can be
calculated by taking its Fourier transform ,
The intensity distribution per unit frequency I() for this wave is
proportional to E()²,

Io - total intensity of the emission integrated over the entire frequency

width of the emission line.
The full width of this emission at half maximum intensity
FWHM is obtained by setting ,  = ₀

c – Classical line

width
Figure 4-7 Graph of the intensity
I() versus  from a classical
analysis of a decaying and
radiating electron as it makes a
transition from one energy level to
a lower-lying level

Although the lineshape function of was derived for a single

electron, it can be shown that an identical line shape function will
result for an assembly of N atoms in the same upper level
This situation leads to the Lorentzian line shape and is referred to
as homogeneous broadening.
Natural Emission Line width (Quantum Mechanics)
Classical analysis is not always complete when considering atomic interactions.
In determining the true emission line width, the classical width c is not the
only factor that is associated with an accurate description of the observed
emission width.
We must turn to the uncertainty principle to obtain the natural emission line
width, or N, of the transition.
Uncertainty in energy E and life time t

(value of the product could never be determined)

sum of all the possible radioactive decay rates to lower-lying levels.
The lower level should have definite width
Figure 4-8 Quantum mechanical description of the natural line width of
emission resulting from a radiating transition between two levels, showing
the contribution from both the lower level / and the upper level u
the total effective energy width for the two levels would be,

We can also relate this energy width ET to the frequency width
of radiative emission

The above equation can be modified as

Then the natural emission linewidth,