Total electron scattering cross sections of He, Ne and Ar, in the energy range 4eV–2 keV

Abstract

Total scattering cross sections of the rare gases He, Ne and Ar have been measured,for electrons in the energy range from 4 eV to 2 keV. The measurements wereperformed using a linear transmission device and an electron energy analyser,with an angular resolution better than 1.1 × 10−3 srand with an energy resolution far below the first excitation threshold in the threeatoms. The uncertainties of the experimental results are generally smaller than3%. With a few exceptions, the present results are in good agreement with thedata of other authors. Systematic deviations were found between the presentresults and the data available for the total scattering cross sections of He athigh electron energies. The deviations increase with increasing energyand reach about 13% at 2 keV. It appears that different levels of theseparation of forward-scattered electrons are responsible for these systematicdeviations.