Investigation of binary compounds using electron Rutherford backscattering

High-energy (40 keV) electrons, scattering over large angles, transfer a small fraction of their kinetic energy to the target atoms, in the same way as ions do in Rutherford backscattering experiments. The authors show here that this energy transfer can be resolved and used to determine the mass of the scattering atom. In this way information on the surface composition for thicknesses of the order of 10 nm can be obtained. The authors refer to this technique as "electron Rutherford backscattering." In addition the peak width reveals unique information about the vibrational properties (mean kinetic energy) of the scattering atoms. Here the authors demonstrate that the method can be used to identify a number of technologically important compounds.