Revisiting the stopping powers of Si and SiO2 for 4He ions:: 0.5-2.0 MeV

Stopping cross-sections for He-4 ions in both amorphous Si and SiO2 have been investigated over the energy region 0.5-2.0 MeV using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), with special emphasis on the experimental determination of Q x Omega - the charge x solid angle product. The solid angle has been determined via the use of Harwell Series II Bi-implanted Si specimens. We find no significant disagreement with experimental stopping powers reported for amorphous Si. For SiO2, our results are similar to3% smaller than recent measurements. Using Bragg's rule, a functional oxygen stopping cross-section useful for RBS analyses of condensed media targets has been extracted. The reasons for simulating measured pulse height spectra, as distinct from energy spectra, are delineated. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.