Study of the trajectory effect in grazing ion surface scattering

The energy distribution observed in ion scattering experiments is determined by two effects. One is the trajectory effect and the other is the stochastic effect. The trajectory effect has been studied quantitatively by means of computer simulations written for low energy Ar beams scattered off an ideal Cu(111) surface. The stochastic effect is briefly discussed within the Firsov model. The present study shows that both the energy loss and the energy straggling are proportional to the primary beam energy and that the stochastic effect is larger than the trajectory effect. (orig.)