REDISTRIBUTION OF ATOMS IN THE NEAR-SURFACE LAYER OF MULTIELEMENTAL SOLIDS RELATED TO VARIATIONS IN THE ION-BEAM PARAMETERS

The redistribution of elements at and near the surface of alloys subje cted to ion bombardment is reported. The kinetics of surface compositi on and the distribution profiles of elements in the subsurface layer a re analysed during the transition time between two steady-state regime s of sputtering after changes in the irradiation conditions. Good agre ement between the experimental and calculated results is obtained. It is shown that the surface composition variations observed after pertur bation of ion beam parameters which lead to changes in the sputtering rate and interdiffusion coefficient are related to the redistribution of elements in the altered layer. The kinetics of surface composition during the transient time depend on the surface pre-treatment history.