Depth of origin of sputtered atoms for elemental targets

The mean depth of origin of sputtered atoms is an important characteristic of the sputtering process. There exist several theoretical and experimental determinations of the escape depth with different results. To dear up the situation, in the present work a systematic computer simulation study of the mean depth of origin of sputtered atoms is performed. The Monte Carlo program TRIIM.SP and the lattice code OKSANA are applied to calculate the distribution of depth of origin and the dependences of the mean depth of origin on the atomic density, N, projectile energy, E, the angle of incidence, alpha, projectile and target atomic species, Z(1) and Z(2). as well as the simulation model. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.