The new mechanism of sputtering with cluster ion beams

Angular distributions of atoms sputtered from Cu, Mo and In under 10 keV Ar cluster ion bombardment (normal incidence) have been studied experimentally. RBS was used to analyze material deposited on a Al collector. It has been found that the angular distribution of atoms sputtered from Mo differs drastically from the one previously published for Cu by other authors. A new mechanism of sputtering with cluster ions is suggested to describe the observed angular distributions.