On the relative stability of different topographical features developed on bombarded copper surfaces

The morphological evolution of different topographical features (namely cones, ridges, cliffs, and featureless planes), as developed on bombarded copper surfaces as a function of consecutive doses of mass-separated 12 keV Kr+ ions, has been compared. The doses ranged from 1.2 × 1017 ions/cm2 up to 3 × 1019 ions/cm2. We found clear experimental evidence, valid at least for copper as here prepared, that the order of increasing relative stability is cone-ridge-cliff-plane.