Energy dependent sputtering of nanoclusters from a nanodisperse target

Au nanoparticles, prepared by thermal evaporation under high vacuum condition on Si substrate, are irradiated with Au ions at different ion energies. During ion irradiation, embedding of nanoparticles as well as ejection of nanoclusters is observed. Ejected particles due to sputtering are collected on carbon-coated grids. Both the grids and the ion-irradiated samples are analyzed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). Size distribution of the sputtered Au clusters on the TEM grids for different ion energy regimes are presented. In the case of low energy (32 keV) ions, where the nuclear energy loss is dominant, sputtering is less as compared to medium energy (1.5 MeV). In the high-energy regime (100 MeV), where the electronic energy loss is dominant, sputtering is found to be maximum.