Escape probability of the outermost sputtered atoms

For sake of comparison computer simulation (CS) and Monte Carlo (MC) codes have been developed and applied to the sputtering of a random target. The codes consider binary collisions and neglect inelastic energy losses. The escape probability of the outermost sputtered atoms is calculated by the two approaches. It turns out that, in this very shallow region, the mean free path should depend on depth and emerging angle, besides the fact that the azimuthal symmetry is broken. When the MC code is modified to account for these effects, a very good agreement is obtained with the results of the CS code. (author)