J. Baro et al., SIMPLIFIED MONTE-CARLO SIMULATION OF ELASTIC ELECTRON-SCATTERING IN LIMITED MEDIA, Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms, 84(4), 1994, pp. 465-483
A practical method to simulate elastic electron scattering is describe
d which represents an effective improvement upon currently available a
pproximate simulation methods. Single scattering events are simulated
by means of a differential cross section model given by a simple analy
tical expression, whose parameters are determined so as to exactly rep
roduce the values of the mean free path and the first and second trans
port mean free paths of the actual scattering process. These character
istic functions are obtainable, for any material, from partial wave ca
lculations or from suitable approximations. The adopted cross section
model is such that (i) it yields a simple analytical formula for the r
andom sampling of the angular deflection in individual elastic events
and (ii) it permits the analytical formulation of mixed algorithms for
simulating high-energy electrons. Results of detailed simulations of
electron penetration through foils, obtained with the proposed cross s
ection model and with accurate partial wave cross sections, show that
the model provides a reliable description of elastic scattering in lim
ited media.