The beam-foil interaction process

Abstract

A specific case of the particle-solid interaction that has become known as the beam-foil interaction will be discussed with emphasis on problems related to the beam-foil technique. The nature of the interaction is studied from both a fundamental and a “practical” point of view. Investigations of fundamental processes clarify the role of foil and beam parameters on energy loss, scattering, charge exchange, sputtering yields, and excited state formation. A practical look at a real foil involves problems of foil preparation, changes in foil character, and breakage during experiments. Some non-linear effects such as heating, and foil thickening occur which can affect normalization procedures when the foil is used in beam-foil experiments.