Some interesting aspects of metal surface sputtering phenomenon are numerically investigated in this work using the molecular dynamics approach. Along with that, we have carried out a critical analysis of the interaction potentials typically used for modeling. Two metallic surfaces, viz., copper, Cu(100), and nickel, Ni(100), are chosen for study that are bombarded by argon ions at various energies and angles of projection. The sputtering yield is calculated by performing molecular dynamics simulations, and the same is compared with experiments and theoretical predictions wherever possible. Furthermore, other interesting parameters like the kinetic energy, velocity, and scattering angle distribution for sputtered and incident atoms are presented and discussed. Through different case studies, the present work emphasizes on the importance of interaction model used for metal surface modeling for a realistic numerical reproduction of the complex metal surface sputtering process.

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