The accumulation of disorder, subject to saturation and sputter limitation, in ion irradiated solids

Abstract

The depth distribution of disorder and the depth integrated disorder produced by ion irradiation of solids is analysed theoretically as a function of increasing ion fluence when disorder saturation processes operate at all depths and the solid surface is continuously uniformly eroded by sputtering. The resulting defining equations are evaluated numerically for a Gaussian approximation to the disorder depth function with parameters appropriate to low, equal and high projectile: substrate mass ratio conditions, for several values of sputtering coefficient and effective atom displacement energy. It is shown that the form, if not the magnitude, of the integrated disorder/projectile fluence function is only weakly dependent upon these parameters. More meaningful comparison with depth resolved disorder functions is, however, possible and such a comparison is made for 100 keV Sb projectiles on a Si substrate.