Molecular dynamics simulation of surface deformation via Ar+ ion collision process

Abstract

We have carried out molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of 50 keV accelerated Ar ions, colliding with a Si surface. Using this procedure the amorphous structural region of the Si was found to expand with the progression of the interface region, that lie between the amorphous structure and the crystalline structure, as fluence increased in the depth direction. There has been considerable interest in studying the time development of the behavior of sputtered silicon atoms after being subjected to collisions with the Ar ions. Here, by tracking the atoms in the computational domain, clusters formed during sputtering are classified under various kinds. In this process small cluster of atoms e.g., monomer and dimer, and large cluster of atoms in forms of hillocks are formed where the smaller cluster have their energy higher than that of the large cluster.