Using classical molecular dynamics simulations we examine the formation of craters during 0.4 - 100 keV Xe bombardment of Au. Our simulation results, and comparison with experiments and simulations ...of other groups, are used to examine to what extent analytical models can be used to predict the size and properties of craters. We do not obtain a fully predictive analytical model (with no fitting parameters) for the cratering probability, because of the difficulty in predicting the probability of cascades splitting into subcascades, and the relation of the heat spike lifetime and energy density. We do, however, demonstrate that the dependence of the crater size on the incident ion energy can be well understood qualitatively in terms of the lifetime of the heat spike and the cohesive energy of the material. We also show that a simple energy density criterion can not be used to predict cratering in a wide ion energy range because of the important role of the heat spike lifetime in high-energy cascades. The cohesive energy dependence differs from that obtained for macroscopic cratering (observed e.g. in astrophysics) because of the crucial role of melting in the development of heat spikes.
The sputtering yield, Y, from a cylindrical thermal spike is calculated using a two dimensional fluid dynamics model which includes the transport of energy, momentum and mass. The results show that ...the high pressure built-up within the spike causes the hot core to perform a rapid expansion both laterally and upwards. This expansion appears to play a significant role in the sputtering process. It is responsible for the ejection of mass from the surface and causes fast cooling of the cascade. The competition between these effects accounts for the nearly linear dependence of \(Y\) with the deposited energy per unit depth that was observed in recent Molecular Dynamics simulations. Based on this we describe the conditions for attaining a linear yield at high excitation densities and give a simple model for this yield.
An incident fast ion in the electronic stopping regime produces a track of excitations which can lead to particle ejection and cratering. Molecular Dynamics simulations of the evolution of the ...deposited energy were used to study the resulting crater morphology as a function of the excitation density in a cylindrical track for large angle of incidence with respect to the surface normal. Surprisingly, the overall behavior is shown to be similar to that seen in the experimental data for crater formation in polymers. However, the simulations give greater insight into the cratering process. The threshold for crater formation occurs when the excitation density approaches the cohesive energy density, and a crater rim is formed at about six times that energy density. The crater length scales roughly as the square root of the electronic stopping power, and the crater width and depth seem to saturate for the largest energy densities considered here. The number of ejected particles, the sputtering yield, is shown to be much smaller than simple estimates based on crater size unless the full crater morphology is considered. Therefore, crater size can not easily be used to estimate the sputtering yield.
Solid state dynamics experiments at very high pressures (P >> 10 GPa) and strain rates ({var_epsilon} >> 10{sup 5} s{sup -1}) have been demonstrated on high energy laser facilities, albeit over brief ...intervals of time and small spatial scales. We have developed two methods for driving samples to high pressures (10-100 GPa) at high strain rate (10{sup 6}-10{sup 8} s{sup -1}) in the solid state. One method uses a shockless compression technique, and the other uses multiple staged shocks. These drives are calibrated with VISAR measurements of the resulting compression wave. Deformation mechanisms are inferred under these conditions by characterizing recovered samples. Material strength at high pressures and strain rates is deduced by measuring the reduced growth of material perturbations at a hydrodynamically unstable interface. Microscopic lattice response is determined by time-resolved Bragg diffraction and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS). Large-scale simulations, both at the continuum level using constitutive models and at the lattice level using molecular dynamics simulation, are used to interpret these integral experiments. We will review our progress in this new area of laser-based materials science research, then present a vision for carrying these solid-state experiments to much higher pressures, P > 1000 GPa, on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser facility.
