Rutherford backscattering using electrons as projectiles: Underlying principles and possible applications

Ion beam analysis is the method of choice for studying the composition of layers with a thickness exceeding several tens of Å. Recently it has become clear that elastic scattering of keV electrons can be used to determine the surface composition of relatively thick layers (up to 1000 Å) in a way very similar to ion scattering experiments. These electron-scattering experiments share much of the underlying physics of electron spectroscopy and ion scattering. In this paper we systematically describe the similarities and differences between the electron-scattering experiments and the ion-beam experiments and illustrate this description with relevant electron-scattering examples.