Page "Ion implantation" Paragraph 8

The energy of the ions, as well as the ion species and the composition of the target determine the depth of penetration of the ions in the solid: A monoenergetic ion beam will generally have a broad depth distribution.

The average penetration depth is called the range of the ions.

Under typical circumstances ion ranges will be between 10 nanometers and 1 micrometer.

Thus, ion implantation is especially useful in cases where the chemical or structural change is desired to be near the surface of the target.

Ions gradually lose their energy as they travel through the solid, both from occasional collisions with target atoms ( which cause abrupt energy transfers ) and from a mild drag from overlap of electron orbitals, which is a continuous process.

The loss of ion energy in the target is called stopping and can be simulated with the binary collision approximation method.