Benchmark measurements of non-Rutherford proton elastic scattering cross section for boron

In the literature several elastic scattering cross-sections data sets are available for protons on 10B and 11B at energies and scattering angles suitable for elastic backscattering spectrometry (EBS) analysis. However, agreement between these different data sets is generally poor, with systematic differences up to 20%, well beyond the stated absolute uncertainties. To resolve the conflict between the different data sets in the absence of the evaluated cross-section data, a benchmark experiment was performed. Proton backscattering spectra were obtained with a thick uniform B4C target at beam energies in the range of 2.0–4.0 MeV and at different scattering angles, followed by a standard direct simulation with the SIMNRA code using the available experimental cross-section data. As a result, recommendation on the most appropriate data set to be used in proton EBS analysis of boron is given.