Any technique using high energy particles directed toward a sample, in which the bombarding particles are detected and recorded as function of energy and/or @A00346@. The technique is mostly used for determining depth distributions of elements based on the energy of the backscattered particle. In general, He⁺ or H⁺ particles are used at energies in the order of \(100\ \text{keV}\) to some \(\mathrm{MeV}\). Also referred to as backscattering @S05848@ (BSS).