Yield spectra and the continuous-slowing-down approximation

The continuous-slowing-down approximation (CSDA) and the modified discrete-energy-bin (MDEB) method are used to calculate a yield spectra U(E, E sub 0) of electrons with energy E resulting from a primary of energy E sub 0. The results of the two calculations are then compared. The MDEB method is found to produce consistently more ions per energy loss while at the same time producing less excitations of some of the low-lying states when compared with the CSDA. These discrepancies can be explained by studying the contributions from the individual generations of electrons to the yield spectra. An integral equation for the solution of the yield spectra is also presented.