Kinetic energy loss in sputtering

The kinetic energy lost by atoms ejected during sputtering has been investigated in a multiple-interaction molecular-dynamics simulation. A significant fraction of the sputtered atoms were found to lose more energy (through collisions during the ejection process) than that required to overcome the nominal surface barrier potential. This contradicts the formulation of collisional sputtering theory by Falcone in which sputtered atoms are recoils that preserve their kinetic energy during the ejection process. (orig.)