Channeling energy loss of He2+ in Si by transmission and back-scattering measurements: Experiments and computer modeling

Path-dependent electronic stopping of 3.35 MeV He2+ ions in Si, is investigated by Rutherford back-scattering channeling in Si/SiO2 wafers and transmission energy loss measurements in thin (1 1 0) membranes. A model which makes use of the 3-D Si electron density to calculate the stopping due to valence electrons, and the program convolution approximation for swift particles (CASP) to calculate the stopping due to core electrons, has been introduced into a Monte Carlo code for the simulation of channeling. The only adjustment allowed is the normalization to the empirical random stopping. An agreement of simulations and experiments within ±10-15% is obtained if both valence and core electron stopping components are scaled in the normalization procedure. To perform a significant comparison with the results obtained by a full atomic (CASP) model, we have also used a different normalization scheme, keeping the core component fixed and scaling only the valence electron contribution. In this case the results of the solid model, although slightly less accurate, become very similar to those obtained with the free-atom model