A new ion beam analysis data format

Computational ion beam analysis (IBA) codes such as RUMP, SIMNRA, NDF, and others implement various formats to store the spectral data and to describe the experimental conditions and simulation or fit parameters. Additionally, many laboratories have developed their own internal data formats. These various data formats are isolated applications and generally incompatible. The need for a universal IBA data format (IDF) has been recognised for many years to allow easy transfer of data and simulation parameters between codes, as well as between experimentalists and data analysts. To be effective, the IDF must be transparent (easily read by an IBA practitioner), universal (catering to varying needs), and must include the most common features desired by both experimentalists who collect and archive data and by users who analyse the data. The IDF must also be readily extensible in order to include features specific to individual codes and laboratories, as well as being able to incorporate new features and options in the future. We have developed such a data format. It is currently being implemented in the most popular general purpose IBA data analysis codes. We present here its main features.