Calculations of electron inelastic mean free paths (IMFPS). IV. Evaluation of calculated IMFPs and of the predictive IMFP formula TPP‐2 for electron energies between 50 and 2000 eV

Abstract

AbstractWe have made additional evaluations of the electron inelastic mean free paths (IMFPs) and of the predictive IMFP formula TPP‐2 presented in papers II and III of this series. Comparisons have been made with other formulae for the IMFPs and electron attenuation lengths (ALs). We find substantial differences between our IMFP results for 27 elements and 15 inorganic compounds and the AL formulae of Seah and Dench; these differences include different dependences on electron energy and on material parameters. We present IMFP calculations for Al2O3 and GaAs from TPP‐2 in which each parameter of the formula is varied in some physically reasonable range about the true value for each compound; these results show the sensitivity of the computed IMFPs to the choices of parameter values. Finally, we give a summary of sources of uncertainty in the IMFP algorithm, in the experimental optical data from which IMFPs are calculated, and of the TPP‐2 formula. We conclude that TPP‐2 is robust and useful for predicting IMFPs for electron energies and material parameter values in ranges for which the formula was developed and tested.