Backscattering coefficient of protons from solid targets in the energy range from 1 keV to 50 keV

In a wide range of applications involving proton–solid interaction, including surface analysis, plasma–wall interaction modeling, and proton transport simulations, reliable values of proton backscattering coefficients from solid targets are required. In the energy range from 1 keV to 50 keV, proton backscattering is governed by the combined effects of elastic nuclear scattering and electronic stopping, which must be treated consistently to obtain quantitative results. In this work, proton backscattering coefficients are systematically evaluated for solid targets across a broad range of materials (19 different atomic numbers) using a well-established interpolation formalism connecting the single-collision and multiple-collision regimes. Transport mean free paths are calculated from differential elastic scattering cross sections obtained with the ECCPA code, while penetration ranges are evaluated within the continuous-slowing-down approximation using the corrected Bethe formalism implemented in the SBETHE code and validated against PSTAR data. Effective power-law exponents describing the energy dependence of elastic scattering and stopping power are determined for each target material and used to compute the coefficients entering the nterpolation formula for the backscattering coefficient without adjustable parameters. Tabulated values of these parameters and of the resulting backscattering coefficients are provided for a wide set of materials and energies. The results show good agreement with available experimental data and provide a consistent and reusable dataset for quantitative modeling of low-energy proton backscattering from solids.