Interaction of accelerated argon cluster ions with a silicon dioxide surface

Gas cluster ion beams bring new opportunities for diagnostics and modification of materials surfaces. In this work impact of argon clusters on silicon dioxide has been studied by molecular dynamics simulations and experimentally. We have obtained dependencies of crater size and the SiO2 sputtering yield on cluster size and specific energy. High reactive selectivity of sputtered products has been revealed for a high specific energy of clusters. It can cause modification of the target surface layer composition in case of long time irradiation. Peculiarities of experimental and computational data matching have been discussed.