MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS OF ION-BOMBARDMENT PROCESSES

An improved molecular dynamics technique that allows reduction of the computation time required in ion bombardment simulations is presented. This technique has been used to study the influence of the target tem perature and structure oil the argon sputtering of silicon. Molecular dynamics simulations of 1 keV Ar+ ion bombardment of silicon were carr ied our for several types of sample: (100) crystalline at 0 K, (100) c rystalline at 300 K, and amorphous at 300 K. The yield of the sputteri ng process and the energy distribution of the sputtered atoms have bee n obtained. These results show that the sputtering process depends on the target surface binding energy, which, in turn, is very sensitive t o the structure of the sample surface. (C) 1997 The Institute of Mater ials.