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Elastic scattering corrections in AES and XPS: I. Two rapid Monte Carlo methods for calculating the depth distribution function
Author(s) -
Cumpson Peter J.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.740200818
Subject(s) - monte carlo method , statistical physics , computational physics , distribution function , attenuation , function (biology) , dynamic monte carlo method , distribution (mathematics) , physics , inelastic scattering , elastic scattering , scattering , mathematics , mathematical analysis , optics , statistics , quantum mechanics , evolutionary biology , biology
We present improvements to the Monte Carlo methods used to calculate emission depth distribution functions (DDFs), emission function decay lengths (EFDLs) and attenuation lengths in quantitative XPS and AES. These reduce the time required to reach any desired level of accuracy by a factor of ∼500, so that even a personal computer can produce accurate results in 2 or 3 min. These rapid results are due to the new technique of averaging over an ensemble of possible inelastic events for each feasible set of elastic scatterings in the Monte Carlo simulation, closely related to methods that have been used successfuly in nuclear physics for many years. No new approximations are required. The results are compared with exact analytical solutions for simple special cases; agreement is excellent.