A SIMPLE SOLID-ON-SOLID MODEL OF EPITAXIAL FILM GROWTH: SURFACE ROUGHNESS AND DYNAMICS

K. Malarz () and A. Z. Maksymowicz ()
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K. Malarz: Department of Theoretical and Computational Physics, Faculty of Physics and Nuclear Techniques, University of Mining and Metallurgy (AGH), al. Mickiewicza 30, PL-30059 Kraków, Poland
A. Z. Maksymowicz: Department of Theoretical and Computational Physics, Faculty of Physics and Nuclear Techniques, University of Mining and Metallurgy (AGH), al. Mickiewicza 30, PL-30059 Kraków, Poland

International Journal of Modern Physics C (IJMPC), 1999, vol. 10, issue 04, 645-657

Abstract: The random deposition model must be enhanced to reflect the variety of surface roughness due to some material characteristics of the film growing by vacuum deposition or sputtering. The essence of the computer simulation in this case is to account for possible surface migration of atoms just after the deposition, in connection with the binding energy between atoms (as the mechanism provoking the diffusion) and/or diffusion energy barrier. The interplay of these two factors leads to different morphologies of the growing surfaces, from flat and smooth ones to rough and spiky ones. In this paper, we extended our earlier calculation by applying an extra diffusion barrier at the edges of terrace-like structures, known as the Ehrlich–Schwoebel barrier. It is experimentally observed that atoms avoid descending when the terrace edge is approached, and these barriers mimic this tendency. Results of our Monte Carlo computer simulations are discussed in terms of surface roughness, and compared with other model calculations and some experiments from literature. The power law of the surface roughnessσagainst film thicknesstwas confirmed. The nonzero minimum value of the growth exponentβnear0.2was obtained which is due to the limited range of the surface diffusion and the Ehrlich–Schwoebel barrier. Observations for different diffusion ranges are also discussed. The results are also confirimed with some deterministic growth models.

Keywords: Surface structure; Morphology; Roughness; Topography; Surface diffusion; Computer simulations; Monte Carlo methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1142/S0129183199000486

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