Sputtering of Cu atoms by Ar ions

Sputtering of Cu single-crystal, polycrystal and amorphous targets by 5 keV Ar ions has been studied by the binary collision lattice simulation code Cosipo. The sputtering yields, angular distributions, energy distributions and the space distributions of the original positions of the sputtered Cu atoms have been calculated. The results are discussed within the framework of cascade generations and surface structure.     

Sputtering studies with the Monte Carlo Program TRIM.SP

The Monte Carlo Program TRIM.SP (sputtering version of TRIM) was used to determine sputtering yields and energy and angular distributions of sputtered particles in physical (collisional) sputtering processes. The output is set up to distinguish between the contributions of primary and secondary knock-on atoms as caused by in- and outgoing incident ions, in order to get a better understanding of the sputtering mechanisms and to check on previous theoretical models. The influence of the interatomic potential and the inelastic energy loss model as well as the surface binding energy on the sputtering yield is investigated. Further results are sputtering yields versus incident energy and angle as well as total angular distributions of sputtered particles and energy distributions in specific solid angles for non-normal incidence. The calculated data are compared with experimental results as far as possible. From this comparison it turns out that the TRIM.SP is able to reproduce experimental results even in very special details of angular and energy distributions.     

Model calculation of ion collection in the presence of sputtering

This paper presents a zero order approximation of ion collection during sputtering. Neglecting diffusion, range shortening and knock-on effects and assuming a constant sputtering yield general analytical results are developed which allow a comparison with experimental data. The accumulation of implantation profiles and the build-up of surface concentrations and collected quantities are described in detail for Gaussian range distributions. A thorough discussion of available experimental results indicates that the model is suitable for a variety of projectile-target combinations, in particular for medium mass noble gas atoms collected in high melting point targets. Application to sputtering experiments presents further evidence of a strong fluence dependence of the silicon sputtering yield. Some comments are devoted to recently reported analytical and numerical treatments of ion collection during sputtering.     

Interaction of low-energy Cu2 dimers with copper clusters on the graphite surface

The sputtering of clusters consisting of 13, 27, and 75 copper atoms from the (0001) graphite surface under bombardment by Cu₂ dimers with energies of 100, 200, and 400 eV has been simulated using the molecular dynamics method. A comparative analysis of the distributions of backscattered particles and their energies over polar angles and the energy distributions of sputtered atoms has been performed. The factors responsible for the large sputtering yield from surface clusters under their bombardment with dimers as compared to copper and xenon monomers have been discussed. It has been demonstrated that, in the case of bombardment with dimers, the substantial role in the sputtering of surface clusters is played by the overlap of collision cascades initiated by each atom of the incident dimer. The differences in the sputtering under cluster and atom bombardments are especially pronounced in the case of large surface clusters.     

辐照导致钨表面的溅射现象的理论研究

采用基于量子力学的分子动力学方法,模拟了高能粒子辐照导致钨表面的溅射和结构损伤.结果显示,当PKA能量高于200 eV且入射角度大于65°时开始产生溅射原子,当入射角度在45°-65°之间时,钨表面因受辐照而导致的空位数目最少.因此,当PKA入射角度取在45°-65°之间时,可以有效地降低辐照导致的钨表面的结构损伤.还发现钨表面含有间隙原子时会加剧表面原子溅射,而包含空位原子且PKA取在空位附近时则会抑制表面原子的溅射.     

PKA原子和SKA原子对同位素(溅射)富集度的贡献分析

关键词：     

Point-defect properties of,and sputtering events in,the {001} surfaces of Ni3Al. II. Sputtering events at and near surfaces

Atomic recoil events at and near {001} surfaces of Ni₃Al due to elastic collisions between electrons and atoms have been simulated by molecular dynamics to obtain the sputtering threshold energy as a function of atomic species, recoil direction and atomic layer of the primary recoil atom. The minimum sputtering energy occurs for adatoms and is 3.5 and 4.5?eV for Al and Ni adatoms on the Ni–Al surface (denoted ‘M’), respectively, and 4.5?eV for both species on the pure Ni surface (denoted ‘N’). For atoms within the surface plane, the minimum sputtering energy is 6.0?eV for Al and Ni atoms in the M plane and for Ni atoms in the N surface. The sputtering threshold energy increases with increasing angle, θ, between the recoil direction and surface normal, and is almost independent of azimuthal angle, ?, if θ<60°; it varies strongly with ? when θ>60°, with a maximum at ??=?45° due to ?{110}? close-packed atomic chains in the surface. The sputtering threshold energy increases significantly for subsurface recoils, except for those that generate efficient energy transfer to a surface atom by a replacement collision sequence. The implications of the results for the prediction of the mass loss due to sputtering during microanalysis in a FEG STEM are discussed.     

Temperature dependence of angular characteristics of boron nitride sputtering

The angular dependence of the sputtering yield and the spatial distribution of particles ejecting from a boron nitride polycrystal with a wurtzite structure in the temperature range from 0 to 2800°C under bombardment with 300 eV xenon ions are calculated by the molecular dynamics method. A reduction of steepness of the curves of angular dependence of boron nitride sputtering with increasing temperature is revealed. Features of the obtained distributions are analyzed on the basis of mechanisms of interaction of slow heavy ions with surface target atoms.     

Investigation of point defects in silicon and germanium by non-irradiation techniques

We have derived a simple empirical formula for sputtering yields of monatomic metals and semiconductors, taking the threshold effect for knock-on of atoms into account in the Sigmund theory. It is found that this semi-empirical formula fits to the energy dependence of the sputtering yields over a wide range of ion-target combinations. The best fit values of the parameters for the formula are given as a function of the ratio of the mass of target atoms and the mass of incident ions.     

Quantitative auger electron analysis of homogeneous binary alloys: Chromium in gold

Quantitative Auger electron analysis of Cr/Au alloys with up to 20% Cr has been accomplished. The surface composition of scribed areas were compared to bulk compositions and it was shown that corrections for variation of density, escape depth, and electron backscattering must be included; these corrections change the measured surface Cr concentrations by approximately 15%. Alloy sputter yield ratios have been calculated from surface concentrations after sputtering with Ar or Ne (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 keV). The sputter yield ratio of Cr to Au was 0.5 at 1% Cr (significant preferred sputtering) but was near unity at 20% Cr (no preferred sputtering). The sputter yield ratio was nearly independent of ion species and ion energy. The 2 keV argon ion sputter yields for pure Cr and Au were determined to be 2.0 and 7.9 atoms/ion, respectively. However, the 2 keV argon ion sputter yield for Au in the alloys drops rapidly from 7.9 atoms/ion for pure Au, to 5 atoms/ion at 10–20% Cr. The sputter yield for Cr in alloys (5 atoms/ion) is relatively independent of composition and is 2.5 times higher than the yield of pure Cr. No simple model is known by which pure elements sputter yields could be used to predict alloy sputtering behavior.     

A comparison of radiation from sputtered atoms with radiation from projectiles scattered on oxidized magnesium at varying angle of incidence

The intensity of light emitted from sputtered atoms and neutralized, scattered primary ions, excited during 4 keV Ne⁺ and Ar⁺ bombardment of oxidized magnesium has been measured as a function of the incidence angle. It was found that the photon yield of sputtered atoms increases with the angle of incidence much more rapidly than the theoretical sputtering yield and the photon yield of scattered projectiles. In order to explain the experimental results a numerical approach was made based on the following assumptions: (1) the sputtered atom can be excited when it crosses the surface after getting the momentum from the collision cascade; (2) at oblique incidence the sputtered excited atom can be directly emitted after a gentle collision between the incident ion and the surface atom; (3) the neutralized primary ion can only be excited in a violent collision with the surface atom.     

A simple calculation of the angular distribution of sputtered atoms

Angular distributions of atoms sputtered with fast ions from smooth amorphous targets are estimated by a straightforward treatment of the collision cascade. When the geometrical situation at oblique ion impact is considered, the angle of maximum emission and the sputtering yield in dependence on the angle of ion incidence are described.     

替位杂质对低能Pt原子与Pt(111)表面相互作用影响的分子动力学模拟

采用嵌入原子方法的原子间相互作用势，通过分子动力学方法模拟了低能Pt原子与Cu，Ag，Au，Ni，Pd替位掺杂Pt(111)表面的相互作用过程，系统研究了替位原子对表面吸附原子产额、溅射产额和空位缺陷产额的影响规律，分析了低能沉积过程中沉积原子与基体表面的相互作用机理以及替位原子的作用及其影响规律.研究结果显示：替位原子的存在不仅影响着沉积能量较低时的表面吸附原子的产额与空间分布，而且对沉积能量较高时的低能表面溅射过程和基体表面空位的形成产生重要影响.替位原子导致的表面吸附原子产额、表面原子溅射以及空位形 关键词： 分子动力学 低能粒子 替位掺杂 表面原子产额 溅射 空位     

Computer simulation of low-energy sputtering in the binary collision approximation

The sputtering of amorphous Cu targets by low-energy atoms has been investigated in the binary collision approximation using the computer program MARLOWE. Particular attention was given to the influence of the surface binding model on the results. Calculations were made of the dependence of the sputtering yield on the incident particle direction, energy, and mass. Angular-, energy-, and yield-distributions of the ejected atoms were evaluated. Comparisons with experimental results on polycrystalline targets show that the planar surface binding model is to be preferred over the isotropic surface binding model, especially with regard to the angular- and energy-distributions. Calculated yields are in reasonable agreement with experiment at energies below about 1 keV, but deviate at higher energies, apparently because of crystal correlation effects that are neglected in the amorphous model. Operated by Union Corporation under contract W-7405-eng-26 with the U.S. Department of Energy.     

Angular distribution of copper atoms sputtered with energetic ions

Measurements of the angular distribution of copper atoms which are sputtered by noble gas ions within the energy range between 0.1 and 1 MeV have been carried out for different angles of ion incidence. The hemisphere over the target surface could be studied with a microphotometer inside the sputtering chamber and the distributions can be plotted in tri-dimensional diagrams. The results are in principle similar to those obtained at lower energies. The angle of maximum emission varies with ion energy and with the angle of incidence and can be related to the sputtering yield.     

Sputtering in the high-voltage electron microscope

The 1.0 MeV electron microscope has been used to observe and analyse transmission sputtering caused by the electrons in the incident beam. The method, reviewed here, is particularly suitable for investigating low energy collision events. Total sputtering yields and angular distributions of sputtered atoms have been measured for (111) gold films to within a few eV of the sputtering threshold energy. It is shown that the results can be explained by the sputtering of surface atoms either directly by electrons, or indirectly by collision sequences generated down 〈110〉 directions. The necessity of using a many-body collision model to interpret the results is stressed. High resolution electron microscopy has been used to study the surface structure of (111) gold films during sputtering on a near-atomic level. It is shown how the results confirm a model where surface roughness develops due to the migration and agglomeration of surface vacancies produced during sputtering. The future scope of the 1.0 MeV electron microscope as an analytical tool for sputtering is also discussed. It is suggested that the rôle of long range focussed collision sequences in sputtering may be determined for materials of medium atomic number. A need for further high resolution studies of sputtered surfaces is identified; such studies are seen as complementary to those by other surface analysis techniques.     

Pt(111)表面低能溅射现象的分子动力学模拟

利用嵌入原子方法的原子间相互作用势，通过分子动力学模拟，详细研究了贵金属原子在Pt (111)表面的低能溅射现象.模拟结果显示：对于垂直入射情况，入射原子的质量对Pt (11 1)表面的溅射阈值影响不大.当入射原子的能量小于溅射阈值时，入射原子基本以沉积为主 ；当入射原子的能量大于溅射阈值时，溅射产额随入射原子能量的增加而线性增大；当入射 原子能量达到200 eV时，各种入射原子的溅射产额都达到或接近1，此时入射原子主要起溅 射作用.溅射原子发射的角分布概率和溅射花样与高能溅射相类似.研究表明：与基于二体碰 撞近似的线性级联溅射理论不同，当入射原子能量大于溅射阈值时，低能入射原子的溅射产 额正比于入射原子的约化能量和入射原子与基体原子的质量比.通过对低能入射原子的钉扎 能力分析，提出了支配低能溅射的入射原子反射物理机理. 关键词： 分子动力学模拟、低能溅射     

Anisotropic energy distribution of sputtered atoms induced by low energy heavy ion bombardment

The theory of anisotropic sputtering published in Phys. Rev. B 71(2), 026101 (2005) and Radiat. Effects Defects Solids 159(5), 301 (2004) has been modified and used to calculate the sputtering yield energy distributions for copper, tungsten, and aluminum targets bombarded by low-energy argon ion. As usual, the electronic stopping is ignored in the analysis. The present theory (modified Sigmund’s theory) has been shown to fit the corresponding experimental results of sputtering yield energy distributions well, except for the cases where the larger ion incident angle and larger sputtering emission angles were considered. The larger discrepancy between the present theory and the experimental result in the latter cases is probably due to the influence of direct recoil atoms on the energy spectrum. Compared with Falcone’s analytical theory, the present theory can reproduce much better experimental results of sputtering phenomena. The fact clearly demonstrates the intrinsic relation between the ion–energy dependence of the total sputtering yield and the sputtering yield energy distribution and suggests the great importance of momentum deposited on the target surface in the physical sputtering     

Bombardment-induced photon emission from GaAs as a function of target temperature

The results of experiments on bombardment-induced photon emission from a GaAs single crystal as a function of target temperature are described. The target temperature was varied in the range 200–500°C. The line emission from excited Ga atoms sputtered by argon ions of 8 keV energy was measured. The variation of the sputtering yield as a function of the target temperature does not affect the intensity of photon emission. One can assume that this effect indicates a two-particle mechanism of excitation that occurs at primary steps of the collision cascade inside the solid. The annealing of the surface layer as a factor that influences the sputtering process is also considered. The evolution of the simple cascade model and radiationless relaxation are proposed to explain the experimental data.     

Determination of angle dependence of sputtering yield for a multicomponent target by the time characteristics of the sputtering process

A method for determining the variations of sputtering yield of multicomponent target based on studies of time characteristics of the sputtered particles flux has been proposed and tested on an example of the angle dependence of sputtering yield. Time dependences of variation in the fluxes of the sputtered atoms of multicomponent oxides at different incidence angles of Ar ions were studied. Angular dependences of the sputtering yield for these compounds were obtained by direct measurements and computations. It has been shown that the angular dependence of the sputtering yield in a stationary mode can be obtained from the time dependences of the fluxes of the sputtered particles.