The interaction of energetic ion bems with solid targets has been studied for some decades. It is now well established that two independent processes contribute to the stopping power, S =·dE/N∙dx, the energy loss dE of an ion crossing a layer dx thick of a solid having N atoms per volume unit: (i) S
e
, the electronic stopping, due to electronic excitation and ionisation, and (ii) S
n
, the
... [Show full abstract] nuclear stopping, due to elastic collisions with the nuclei of the target atoms [1].