Calculations of electron inelastic mean free paths. III. Data for 15 inorganic compounds over the 50–2000 eV range

Abstract We report calculations of electron inelastic mean free aths (IMEPs) of 50–2000 eV electrons in a group of 15 inorganic compounds (Al 2 O 3 , GaAs, GaP, InAs, InP, InSb, KCl, LiF, NaCl, PbTe, SiC, Si 3 N 4 , SiO 2 and ZnS). As was found in similar calculations for a group of 27 elements, there are substantial differences in the shapes of the IMFP versus energy curves from compound to compound for energies below 200 eV; these differences are associated with the different inelastic electron scattering characteristics of each material. Comparisons are made of the calculated IMFPs and the values calculated from the predictive IMFP formula TPP‐2 developed from the IMFP calculations for the elements. Deviations in this comparison are found, which correlated with uncertainties of the optical data from which the IMFPs were calculated. The TPP‐2 IMFP formula is therefore believed to be a more reliable means for determining IMFPs for these compounds than the direct calculations.