Binary theory of electronic stopping

Binary stopping theory has been developed to characterize the electronic stopping of swift heavy ions in matter. It is an extension of Bohr's classical theory of 1913 incorporating screening, higher-order-Z(1) and shell corrections, highspeed quantum and relativity corrections as well as projectile excitation and ionization. The main numerical input comes from optical properties. The computation of shell corrections involves orbital velocity distributions of target and projectile electrons. Calculated stopping parameters depend on ion charge. Equilibrium stopping forces may be computed by adoption of a suitable model for the equilibrium charge state. This paper summarizes the current status of the theory, in particular the sensitivity of its predictions to pertinent input. Charge-dependent stopping forces have been calculated for selected systems and compared to experimental results. Equilibrium stopping forces calculated for a wide variety of ion-target combinations are compared with experimental data from the literature spanning over 6 decades in ion energy. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.