A new method of applying channeling to determine the number of displaced atoms in an ion‐implanted silicon sample is described. The technique utilizes measurements of the transmission energy spectra of channeled protons scattered 10° from the incident beam direction as they penetrate through thin ([inverted lazy s] 1 &mgr;m) silicon crystals to discriminate between ``true'' interstitial atoms and atoms only slightly off lattice sites due to strain. A comparison of this technique with the standard channeling effect technique, using backscattering, indicates that the channeling‐backscattering technique is sensitive mainly to such ``true'' interstitial atoms.