A setup for integral measurements of multiple scattering angular distributions by 10- to 100-keV electrons

A dedicated setup has been developed to study the angular distributions of electrons traversing thin films employing the low-energy beam available from the gun of the São Paulo Microtron. In this first stage, only integral measurements are possible using the fraction of the electron beam current collected in a Faraday cup and in a ring surrounding the entrance of the former. The overall normalisation is provided by measuring the beam current collected by the scattering chamber as well, thus covering the full solid angle. In this work, important construction specifications are presented. The experience gained by operating this system is also discussed regarding its critical aspects like: avoiding cross talk between the cup and the ring both at the physical and electronic levels, measurements of small charges deposited on large objects (the chamber in particular), and conditioning of the various surfaces involved. Finally, some selected results are compared to the well-known theory by Goudsmit and Saunderson with good agreement.