Similarities and Differences in the Mechanisms of High and Low Energy Ion Mixing

High energy ion mixing occurs when an ion beam of a few hundred keV bombards an interface under the surface. Low energy ion mixing arises when an ion beam of a few keV bombards an interface near the surface during, for example, sputter depth profiling and low energy ion assisted deposition. At low temperatures, the rate of both high and low energy ion mixing can be influenced by thermodynamic parameters, such as the heat of mixing and the cohesive energy of solids. These effects are demonstrated by ion mixing experiments using metallic bilayers consisting of high atomic number elements. A model of diffusion in thermal spikes is used to explain this similarity. Low energy ion mixing can also be strongly affected by surface diffusion and the morphological stability of thin films. These effects are illustrated using results obtained from sputter depth profiling of Ag/Ni bilayers at elevated temperatures. High energy ion mixing at low temperatures can be influenced by the anisotropic momentum distribution in a collision cascade as seen from a set of marker experiments to determine the dominant moving species in high energy ion mixing. These similarities and differences between high and low energy ion mixing illustrate the diversity of ion-solid interactions.