Experimental measurements are reported on the geometric and intensity variations of Coates–Kikuchi backscattered electron images from several single crystals as a function of the primary electron beam energy and angle of beam incidence to the crystal lattice. Total energy distribution measurements of the backscattered electrons were also made on a (001) GaAs wafer using a custom designed cylindrical mirror electron analyzer. The number of elastically backscattered primary electrons decreased by 80% when the beam was incident in the off-axis direction. The first plasmon loss peak was observed at −14.5 eV ± 1 eV, with a primary beam energy of 8 keV. The motivation for this work is a better characterization of the high-contrast Coates–Kikuchi patterns that we have observed using an energy sensitive solid-state detector, and better application of these patterns, which are highly detailed reciprocal lattice displays, to surface analysis. Generation of these displays in a scanning electron microscope allows practical and rapid measurement of crystal orientation, crystal type, and near-surface lattice disorder.