Quantifying low-energy nitrogen ion channeling in α-titanium by molecular dynamics simulations
Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2024
Please see the full published article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2023.128098
Highlights:
- Molecular dynamics simulations quantify low-energy N ion channeling in α-titanium over the 0.5–4 keV range.
- Channeling strongly modifies nitrogen depth distributions, with the most pronounced effect for the (110) surface orientation.
- A second, deeper distribution maximum emerges for (110), showing that channeling can shift implanted nitrogen far below the near-surface region.
- Increasing target temperature suppresses channeling, although it does not eliminate it completely up to 1155 K.
- Tilting the ion incidence angle provides controllable reduction of channeling, enabling tuning of implantation depth profiles.
- Surface orientation, temperature, energy, and incident angle jointly govern implantation behavior in α-Ti.
- Molecular dynamics predicts orientation-dependent effects beyond standard TRIM simulations, highlighting the importance of crystal structure in low-energy implantation.
- The results support controlled nitrogen implantation in titanium, relevant for surface engineering, nanomaterials, and shallow modified layers.