Microscopic Insights into the Sputtering of Ag{111} Induced by C₆₀ and Ga Bombardment

Abstract

Molecular dynamics computer simulations have been utilized to compare the differences in the mechanism of sputtering of Ag{111} by kiloelectronvolt Ga and C60 projectiles. The calculated kinetic energy distributions of Ag monomers and Ag2 dimers compare favorably with experimental results. The damage caused by the C60 particle left in the sample is less than the depth of material that the next impinging C60 particle would remove, thus supporting the preliminary experimental observations that molecular depth profiling is possible with C60 projectile beams.