We present the stochastic approach to calculating fast charged particle energy distributions when penetrating matter, and nuclear reaction yield curves obtained when the energy of a beam incident on a target is scanned about the energy of narrow nuclear resonances, such as O-18(p,alpha)N-15 at 151 keV. In particular we present new calculations that show the insensitivity of the final calculations to the detailed form of the energy loss distribution assumed for independent single ion-atom collisions. We present application of narrow resonance profiling with O-18 stable isotopic tracing to the study of the dry thermal oxidation mechanisms of silicon carbide, yielding insights into the process that cannot be obtained by other means. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.