The computer simulation of energetic particle-solid interactions

Over the last decade the use of computer simulation in predicting physical phenomena associated with ion beam processing of materials has increased both in use and reliability. This is partly due to the dramatic increase in computer power and decrease in computer cost, but is also being achieved due to an increased understanding of the physical processes occurring. With the increase in computer power has come not just the ability to perform more complex calculations but also the methods for complex data representation in animated form. By animating the results it is much easier to observe collective effects such as acoustic wave propagation at a surface due to, for example, molecule impact.