IAP Surface Physics Download Area
Animation of sputtering
Molecular-dynamics simulations for 1 keV Ar+ → Cu(111) by Gerhard Betz; Animation by Michael Schmid. The simulation shows one arbitrary event with three ejected Cu atoms (one single atom, one dimer). Other Ar+ impact events can result in ejection of zero to many more Cu atoms, with an average (sputter yield) around 2–3.
- Overview — What it looks like from the outside
- Energies — The energy of the incoming ion gets transferred to the target atoms.
- The Collision Cascade — See the trajectories of the atoms
- Radiation damage — Note that intermixing affects much more atoms than sputtering! This makes it clear why you can't get layer-by-layer removal by sputtering.
Copyright: Free use for students and teaching; distribution via media of any kind and commercial use with permission only.