Elucidating the thermal spike effect by using a coupled classical oscillator model

Abstract

Atomic heating is a fundamental phenomenon governed by the thermal spike effect during energetic deposition. This work presented another insight into thermal spike using a coupled classical oscillator model instead of a typical heat diffusion model. The temperature profile of deposited atoms was replaced by oscillator amplitude as an energy descriptor. Solving associated partial differential equations (PDEs)suggests the efficiency of energy transfer from the coupled hot to cold oscillators essentially relies on the atomic distance r and the spring constant k. The solution towards the damped wave equation further emphasize that a localized thermal fluctuation during energy propagation.