The effects of large angle plural scattering on heavy ion elastic recoil detection analysis

Heavy ion elastic recoil detection analysis (HIERDA) is becoming widely used to study a range of problems in materials science, however there is no standard methodology for the analysis of HIERDA spectra. Major impediments are the effects of multiple and plural scattering which are very significant, even for quite thin (similar to 100 nm) layers of very heavy elements. To examine the effects of multiple scattering a fast FORTRAN version of TRIM has been adapted to simulate the spectrum of backscattered and recoiled ions reaching the detector. The results of the simulations are compared with experimental measurements on well characterised samples including thin Au layers and pure elements beyond the single scattering critical angle performed using ToF-E HIERDA at Lucas Heights and show good agreement except in the long tails. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.