Abstract

The ion bombardment of the surface of Si samples results in nanostructure morphologies. In this paper nanostructures are predicted using a modified Kuramoto Shivashinky (mKS) equation: the numerical results obtained by mKS model are compared for benchmarking to laboratory results on Si. Once assumed the lab conditions of the experiments (Ion bombarding energy = 1000 eV, ion flux = 6.0*1014#/cm2 second and ion irradiation time t = 10.0 minutes), a search for the equivalent mathematical solutions for the experimental results was addressed systematically, setting integer values for the sputtering parameters a,σ,μ. Therefore, reproducing the benchmarking experiment achieved in similar conditions of the simulations, several parametrical “operating points” expressing the mathematical solutions are so predicted, providing physical evidence of other nanostructure morphologies in Si. Thus this innovative study links the 4 mKS equation parameters to the typical sputtering phenomena geometrical parameters (a,σ,μ, while the material constant Csi is provided by the nature of Si sample).