Electron impact ionization cross sections of atoms

In this article, we report the electron impact ionization cross sections for atoms Si, P, S, Sc, Cr, Mn, Co, Zn, Ga, Ge, Nb, Rh, and Cd, having applications in different areas of applied science and technology. The energy regime for the calculation is from the ionization threshold of the target to 2000 eV. We have employed the spherical complex optical potential method to calculate inelastic cross sections. A semiempirical complex scattering potential ionization contribution method is then used to estimate the ionization cross section from the inelastic cross section. In general, good agreement between the present results with available theoretical datasets and measurements are observed. The prime focus of this study was to investigate electron impact ionization phenomena in less studied targets. The results obtained are found to be quite encouraging. The values presented here are reasonable estimates of cross section for all the atoms studied.