Monte Carlo prediction of crater formation by single ion impact on solid surface

A method is presented for predicting the topography changes following the impact of one energetic ion on the plane surface of a monatomic amorphous solid. This is done in two stages. The first is a Monte Carlo calculation of the sputter yield and interior distribution relocated atoms, with no compensation for local departures from equilibrium density. In the second stage there is a systematic relaxation of the solid, in which the density returns to its previous constant value and a crater develops in the surface. Two alternative methods of carrying out stage two are compared. In the first the solid is subdivided into cells within which relaxation is carried out normal to the surface, as in previous one-dimensional studies. The second method treats the solid as a 3-dimensional incompressible medium. Both seem to reproduce quite well the main features found experimentally. (orig.)