EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF MODEL FOR ANGULAR AND ENERGY-DEPENDENCE OF REFLECTION-ELECTRON-ENERGY-LOSS SPECTRA

Experimental inelastic electron-scattering cross sections of Si and Fe determined from reflection-electron-energy-loss spectroscopy (REELS) experiments are presented. Three primary energies of the electrons (30 0, 800, and 2000 eV) and three experimental geometries have been consi dered. The cross sections have been compared with those determined acc ording to a theoretical model introduced in the preceding paper [F. Yu bero et at, Phys. Rev. B 53, 9719 (1996)]. The agreement between theor y and experiment is good, considering that the theoretical cross secti ons are calculated from first principles, without adjustable parameter s. For a fixed primary electron energy the inelastic mean free path, f or both Si and Fe, is found to decrease for more glancing trajectories . The characteristic length for the path-length distribution function of the REELS electrons is found to be smaller for Fe than for Si and t o decrease with energy for both materials.