Thin films of Ag were grown on amorphous C and <111= Si substrates with simultaneous Ar+ bombardment at energies ranging from 50–40,000 eV. For deposition of Ag on amorphous C, ion beam bombardment induced no changes in film nucleation behavior relative to evaporation (henceforth referred to as physical vapor deposition, PVD). Film growth was affected at the highest energy (40 keV); the grain size of the Ag films was increased by a factor of three. Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) measurements on Ag films on <111=Si bombarded with Ar+ at 1.5 keV showed that the Ag sputtering yield at film thicknesses <1.5 nm was less than for bulk Ag, in agreement with TRIM calculations. At 40 keV there was evidence for an additional effect of the ion beam due to recoil implantation or ion mixing. Electron diffraction from Ag fdms grown on <111= Si substrates with simultaneous Ar+ bombardment at either 1.5 keV or 40 keV showed evidence for only the expected phases: single crystal Si, polycrystalline Ag, and an amorphous phase that likely resulted from ion damage to the substrate.