Simulation of sputtering following ion bombardment at a target step

Both binary-collision and molecular-dynamics simulations of sputtering properties usually are carried out using perfectly smooth targets. However, in actual sputtering experiments the target topography most often is not smooth. In this molecular-dynamics simulation study we investigate the effect that a simple step irregularity on the surface of a Cu(1 0 0) target has on sputtering properties such as yields, sputtered-atom energy distributions, and sputtered-atom angular distributions.