It is demonstrated the quantitative determination of damage depth profiles of 10 keV B+ and 60 keV Ge+ ion implantation in silicon at low dose rates and doses below the threshold ones. Variable angle of incidence spectroellipsometry (VASE) and Newton-Gauss type iterative procedure for measured data calculations have been used and retrieved damage profile of Ge+ and B+ ion implants has been compared with the simulated results. The measured boron damage profiles show a direct correlation with the simulated elemental boron depth profiles as well as the elastic strain energy depth profiles. In this case of low-mass and low-energy ion implantation, the clearly distinguished near surface damage region, the region with a low damage and the main, buried, damage region are recognized. The maximum of the buried region is located around the ion projected range value. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.