Low energy ion bombardment of metal nanoclusters on graphite

Molecular dynamics simulations of 100 eV Ar and Xe ion bombardment of copper clusters, which consisted of 13 and 39 Cu atoms on a (0 0 0 1) graphite surface, have been performed. Energy distributions of backscattered Ar and Xe ions were analyzed. The influence of the cluster size on the Ar and Xe ion energy distributions are discussed.