Energy distributions of neutral atoms sputtered from Cu, V and Nb under different bombardment and ejection angles

Abstract

The energy distributions of neutral atoms sputtered from clean polycrystalline metals (Cu, V, Nb) have been measured for different combinations of the angle of incidence θi of the bombarding Ar+ ions and the ejection angle θc (θi/θc=0°/0°, 20°/70°, 70°/20° and 45°/45°), and for bombarding energies of 0.6, 1.0 and 2.0 keV. For oblique bombarding and ejection angles the measured energy distributions show significant deviations from the well known E/(E+U0)3 formula. This is discussed with regard to the incomplete development of the sputtering cascades.