Electron inelastic mean free path and stopping power modelling in alkali halides in the 50 eV-10 keV energy range

A model for calculating the electron inelastic mean free path and stopping power in insulators in the 50 eV-10 keV energy range is presented. Both valence and core electron contributions have been considered. The valence part has been estimated following the dielectric theory modified to include the energy gap; the core contribution has been evaluated on the basis of the classical binary encounter theory. Inelastic mean free path and stopping power calculations based on this model have been performed for several alkali halides: LiF, NaCl, KCl and CsI. They are compared to existing experimental data and Penn model's predictions for the mean free path and to Bethe's values for the stopping power; a fair agreement is found for incident electron energies higher than 100-200 eV. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.