Charge and Size Distribution of Clusters Formed in Ion Sputtering of Metals

摘要

Description of the sputtering of metals by ion bombardment, in which large neutral or charged clusters are produced with the number of atoms N ≥ 5, is further elaborated using simple physical assumptions. The results obtained, represented by simple formulas, are in agreement with experiment. By way of example, calculations of the mass spectra of neutral and singly charged clusters produced by ion sputtering of tantalum and the ionization coefficients of silver clusters are presented.