CALCULATION OF PROJECTED RANGES - ANALYTICAL SOLUTIONS AND A SIMPLE GENERAL ALGORITHM

The concept of multiple scattering is reconsidered for obtaining the directional spreading of ion motion as a function of energy loss. From this the mean projection of each pathlength element of the ion trajectory is derived, which leads to the desired mean projected range. In special cases, the calculation can be carried out analytically, otherwise a simple general algorithm is derived which is suitable even for the smallest programmable calculators. The present approach lends itself easily to include electronic straggling or to treat composite target materials, or even to account for the so-called ″time integral″ .