Dynamics of ion channeling at low energies: Preliminary trajectory studies

In order to understand better recent experiments which have examined the channeling of deuterium ions in tungsten single crystals at low incident energies, we have computed classical trajectories using various sets of ion--atom interaction parameters. Both the penetration depth profiles and the backscattered ion energy spectra display strong dependences upon the particular input parameters but to a much lesser extent upon the level of accuracy to which the individual trajectories are calculated. On the basis of our results we are able to suggest experiments which may resolve present uncertainties about the appropriate description of the microscopic interaction forces