Ranges of low- and medium-energy heavy ions in an amorphous material

A theory of the passage of ions in an amorphous material is developed with elastic and inelastic stopping processes taken into account. Inelastic stopping of ions is studied in the continuous deceleration approximation. Elastic stopping is studied with allowance for the discrete character of the change in energy and direction of motion of the ions in elastic scattering by the target atoms. Integral equations are obtained for the total and projected ion ranges. Expressions are obtained for the probability of a change in ion energy in elastic and inelastic stopping. Calculations of the projected ranges of Cu and Ga ions in Si and C targets are performed. The computational results agree well with experiment. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics.