Amc. Perezmartin et al., MONTE-CARLO PREDICTION OF CRATER FORMATION BY SINGLE-ION IMPACT ON SOLID-SURFACE, Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms, 90(1-4), 1994, pp. 424-428
A method is presented for predicting the topography changes following
the impact of one energetic ion on the plane surface of a monatomic am
orphous solid. This is done in two stages. The first is a Monte Carlo
calculation of the sputter yield and interior distribution relocated a
toms, with no compensation for local departures from equilibrium densi
ty. In the second stage there is a systematic relaxation of the solid,
in which the density returns to its previous constant value and a cra
ter develops in the surface. Two alternative methods of carrying out s
tage two are compared. In the first the solid is subdivided into cells
within which relaxation is carried out normal to the surface, as in p
revious one-dimensional studies. The second method treats the solid as
a 3-dimensional incompressible medium. Both seem to reproduce quite w
ell the main features found experimentally.