Deconvolution of Doppler-broadened positron annihilation lineshapes by fast Fourier transformation using a simple automatic filtering technique

A deconvolution scheme for digital lineshapes using fast Fourier transforms and a filter based on background subtraction in Fourier space has been developed. In tests on synthetic data this has been shown to give optimum deconvolution without prior inspection of the Fourier spectrum. Although offering significant improvements on the raw data, deconvolution is shown to be limited. The contribution of the resolution function is substantially reduced but not eliminated completely and unphysical oscillations are introduced into the lineshape. The method is further tested on measurements of the lineshape for positron annihilation in single crystal copper at the relatively poor resolution of 1.7 keV at 512 keV. A two-component fit is possible yielding component widths in agreement with previous measurements. (orig.)