Remarks on the definition of the backscattering factor in AES

Abstract

It has been shown that the backscattering factor in AES can be defined as an integral of the product of the excitation depth distribution function and the emission depth distribution function. First function describes the number of ionizations as a function of depth while the second function describes the escape probability of Auger electrons created at different depths. The backscattering factor calculated from such definition is found to depend on the Auger electron emission angle. For emission angles up to 40° with respect to surface normal, this dependence is not pronounced. However, influence of the emission angle on the backscattering factor may be substantial at glancing emission angles. Values of the backscattering factor calculated from the proposed algorithm assuming the emission angle equal to 40° differ noticeably from values resulting from the Shimizu expression. The deviation may reach 18% at primary electron energy of 2000 eV. Furthermore, the backscattering factor may become smaller than unity at primary energies close to the ionization energy. This effect has been suggested in earlier studies.