Hyperthermal (10–500 eV) collisions of noble gases with Ni(100) surface Comparison between light and heavy atom collisions

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Collisional events between 10–500 eV atomic beams (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) and a Ni(100) surface are investigated by the classical trajectory method. The calculation employs a molecular dynamics approach combined with a Langevin method for treating energy dissipation to infinite solid. We find that low energy collisions of heavy atoms (Xe and Kr) are characterized by extensive many-body interactions with top layer surface atoms. On the other hand, light atom (Ne and He) collisions can be approximated as a sequence of binary collisions even at these energies. Such a difference in the collisional nature gives rise to the following consequences. Low energy heavy atoms transfer energy mostly to the surface atoms during 45° angle collision. They scatter from the surface with a narrow angular distribution centered in a supraspecular direction. The ratio of the scattered to incident particle energy rapidly decreases with increasing beam energy of heavy atoms. The sputtering yield for Ni atoms by heavy atom bombardment increases quite linearly with beam energy, which is attributed to a linear proportionality between the beam energy and the energy transfered to a surface. Near the threshold energy sputtering can occur more efficiently by light atom bombardment. The energy transfer ratio to solid continuously increases with beam energy for light atoms. For heavy projectiles, on the other hand, this ratio reaches a maximum at the energy of ca, 100 eV, above which it stays nearly constant but slightly decreases.