On the Z₁-dependence of electronic stopping in TiN

We present a thorough experimental study of electronic stopping of H, He, B, N, Ne and Al ions in TiN with the aim to learn about the energy loss mechanisms of slow ions. The energy loss was measured by means of time-of-flight medium-energy ion scattering. Thin films of TiN on silicon with a δ-layer of W at the TiN/Si interface were used as targets. We compare our results to non-linear density functional theory calculations, examining electron-hole pair excitations by screened ions in a free electron gas in the static limit, with a density equivalent to the expected value for TiN. These calculations predict oscillations in the electronic stopping power for increasing atomic number Z₁ of the projectile. An increasing discrepancy between our experimental results and predictions by theory for increasing Z₁ was observed. This observation can be attributed to contributions from energy loss channels different from electron-hole pair excitation in binary Coulomb collisions.