Substrates of Al, Si, Al2O3, and GaAs were implanted with 100 to 420‐keV Al, Ar, Mn, Ni, Zn, Te, and Xe ions at low temperature of about 100 K. The reduced energies range from 0.2 to 4. The implantation energies were calibrated accurately using a nuclear resonance reaction of19F( p,&agr;&ggr;)16O. The depth distributions of the implanted ions and the induced damage were determined by means of backscattering (including channeling) combined with computer‐simulated spectrum analysis. The results are compared with the theoretical predictions given by Gibbonsetal. (GJM) and Winterbonetal. (WSS). For the latter theory, optimum WSS parameters are determined to give a good fit to the experimental data. The systematic investigation reveals that the reduced projected range and damage depth are proportional to reduced energy &egr; for Al, Si, and Al2O3, whereas they are expressed in the form &egr;2/3for GaAs substrates.