Experimental observation of the strong influence of crystal orientation on Electron Rutherford Backscattering Spectra

In Electron Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (ERBS) energetic electrons (in our case up to 40 keV) impinge on a target and one measures the energy of elastically scattered electrons. This energy depends on the mass of the scattering atom, due to the recoil effect. This technique thus provides information about the sample composition. For single crystals the interaction of the projectile electron with the crystal potential modifies the angular intensity distribution of the scattered electrons. This leads, for example, to the well-known Kikuchi patterns. Here we investigate if such modified angular distribution has any influence on the intensity ratio of the observed elastic peaks in ERBS. Dramatic effects are found. Implications of these observations for quantitative surface analysis using energetic electrons are discussed.