Paper detail

Impact of the experimental approach on the observed electronic energy loss for light keV ions in thin self-supporting films

Energy spectra of backscattered and transmitted ions with primary energies of 50 keV and 100 keV interacting with self-supporting foils were recorded with a Time-of-Flight Medium-Energy Ion Scattering setup in a single experiment. Self-supporting Au and W foils without backing material were used. For He ions transmitted through Au the spectrum of detected particles shows two distinct components corresponding to different energy losses in the film, whereas for protons no such phenomenon was observed. To determine the origin of these different contributions, measurements for different angles of incidence and scattering angles have been evaluated. The results suggest that the two components in the spectrum of transmitted He ions could be attributed to impact parameter dependent energy loss, being more prominent for He ions than for protons. The main origin of the necessary impact parameter selection along the different ion trajectories is expected to be texture in the Au-foils.