ИСТИНА

The report briefly discusses the history of the study of alloy preferential sputtering under atomic ion beam bombardment. Despite significant achievements, the understanding of the mechanisms of alternated layer formation requires further study. New ideas are offered. An overview of experimental data on the effect of gas cluster ion irradiation on the surface composition of nickel-based alloys is given. Some differences have been found in the effect of cluster and atomic ion beams on elemental surface composition.