Unique capabilities of heavy ion elastic recoil detection with gas ionization detectors

Specific aspects of heavy ion elastic recoil detection (ERD) with gas ionization detectors have been studied using representative measurements. A particular strength of the technique is the detection and direct quantification of elements with atomic numbers in the range Z = 2-8, which are often not accessible with other ion beam techniques. Within the wider spectrum of analytical techniques in materials science, heavy ion ERD has unique capabilities, when the particular problem requires in addition the analysis of heavy elements or hydrogen detection. Whenever only heavy element analysis or only hydrogen profiling is of interest, alternative techniques tend to be superior.