Angular Scattering of 1–50 keV H, He, C, N, Ne, and Ar Ions Passing Through Thin Carbon Foils

Abstract Ions and neutral particles passing through thin carbon foils experience angular scattering, energy loss and straggling, and cause secondary electron emission from the foils. The secondary electrons are typically used for timing and coincidence detection. The angular scattering (and energy straggling) degrades the performance of a carbon‐foil‐based instrument. Thus, it is important to understand its effects for instrument design optimization and for enhancing data analysis using a better knowledge of the instrument response. The angular scattering of ions through a foil depends on the foil thickness. Therefore, measurements of the angular scattering of ions can be used to estimate the foil thickness as was shown in previous studies. In this study, we establish the necessary empirical relationships to reconstruct the angular scattering distributions of H ions by carbon foils, and we provide scaling factors to determine the same for heavier species. A single measurement of the scattering distribution of H for a given foil is sufficient to determine the scattering distributions for many low‐Z ions at keV energies, which saves time consuming measurements. We also show how to derive a foil thickness estimate and the energy straggling of H for that foil.