Measurement method to elucidate composition and structure of layers at the surface of a solid material, in which principally monoenergetic, singly charged
probe ions scattered from the surface with a
Rutherford cross section are detected and recorded as a function of their energy or angle of scattering, or both.
Notes: - RBS is a form of ion beam analysis in which the probe ions, typically \(\ce{He+}\) but sometimes \(\ce{H+}\), have energies in the range \(\pu{1 MeV}\) to \(\pu{2 MeV}\). In its traditional form, a solid-state energy-dispersive detector is used. In the form of high-resolution RBS, the energy can be reduced to \(\pu{300 keV}\) and a high-resolution (ion optical) spectrometer can be used.
- By using channelling and aligning the incident-ion beam along a crystal axis, the scattering from the substrate can be suppressed so that enhanced signal quality and visibility are obtained for amorphous overlayers.
Source:
PAC, 2020, 92, 1781. 'Glossary of methods and terms used in surface chemical analysis (IUPAC Recommendations 2020)' on page 1785 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0404)