Continuum modeling of particle redeposition during ion-beam erosion : laterally two-dimensional case

We thoroughly investigate the impact of redeposition on the self-organized pattern formation during ion-beam erosion within the framework of a spatially two-dimensional continuum model. An analysis on prestructured patterns allows the extraction of general properties of this mechanism, the typical distribution of redepositing particles and approximations in terms of the surface height in particular. By combining the redeposition model with erosion models, we present detailed results about the impact of redeposition on spatio-temporal surface evolutions. It is shown that redeposition can play a decisive role for pattern formation under ion-beam erosion within an extended range in the parameter space.