We evaluate the ability of the embedded-atom method ͑EAM͒ potentials and the tight-binding ͑TB͒ method to predict reliably energies and stability of nonequilibrium structures by taking Cu as a model material. Two EAM potentials are used here. One is constructed in this work by using more fitting parameters than usual and including ab initio energies in the fitting database. The other potential was constructed previously using a traditional scheme. Excellent agreement is observed between ab initio, TB, and EAM results for the energies and stability of several nonequilibrium structures of Cu, as well as for energies along deformation paths between different structures. We conclude that not only TB calculations but also EAM potentials can be suitable for simulations in which correct energies and stability of different atomic configurations are essential, at least for Cu. The bcc, simple cubic, and diamond structures of Cu were identified as elastically unstable, while some other structures ͑e.g., hcp and 9R͒ are metastable. As an application of this analysis, nonequilibrium structures of epitaxial Cu films on ͑001͒-oriented fcc or bcc substrates are evaluated using a simple model and atomistic simulations with an EAM potential. In agreement with experimental data, the structure of the film can be either deformed fcc or deformed hcp. The bcc structure cannot be stabilized by epitaxial constraints.

We demonstrate an approach to the development of many-body interatomic potentials for monoatomic metals with improved accuracy and reliability. The functional form of the potentials is that of the embeddedatom method, but the interesting features are as follows: ͑1͒ The database used for the development of a potential includes both experimental data and a large set of energies of different alternative crystalline structures of the material generated by ab initio calculations. We introduce a rescaling of interatomic distances in an attempt to improve the compatibility between experimental and ab initio data. ͑2͒ The optimum parametrization of the potential for the given database is obtained by alternating the fitting and testing steps. The testing step includes a comparison between the ab initio structural energies and those predicted by the potential. This strategy allows us to achieve the best accuracy of fitting within the intrinsic limitations of the potential model. Using this approach we develop reliable interatomic potentials for Al and Ni. The potentials accurately reproduce basic equilibrium properties of these metals, the elastic constants, the phonon-dispersion curves, the vacancy formation and migration energies, the stacking fault energies, and the surface energies. They also predict the right relative stability of different alternative structures with coordination numbers ranging from 12 to 4. The potentials are expected to be easily transferable to different local environments encountered in atomistic simulations of lattice defects. ͓S0163-1829͑99͒05005-5͔

A recent tight-binding scheme provides a method for extending the results of first principles calculations to regimes involving 10 2 − 10 3 atoms in a unit cell. The method uses an analytic set of two-center, non-orthogonal tight-binding parameters, on-site terms which change with the local environment, and no pair potential. The free parameters in this method are chosen to simultaneously fit band structures and total energies from a set of first-principles calculations for monatomic fcc and bcc crystals. To check the accuracy of this method we evaluate structural energy differences, elastic constants, vacancy formation energies, and surface energies, comparing to first-principles calculations and experiment. In most cases there is good agreement between this theory and experiment. We present a detailed account of the method, a complete set of tight-binding parameters, and results for twenty-nine of the alkaline earth, transition and noble metals.

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New embedded-atom potentials for Al and Ni have been developed by fitting to both experimental data and the results of ab initio calculations. The ab initio data were obtained in the form of energies of different alternative computer-generated crystalline structures of these metals. The potentials accurately reproduce basic equilibrium properties of Al and Ni such as the elastic constants, phonon dispersion curves, vacancy formation and migration energies, stacking fault energies, and surface energies. The equilibrium energies of various alternative structures not included in the fitting database are calculated with these potentials. The results are compared with predictions of total-energy tight-binding calculations for the same structures. The embedded-atom potentials correctly reproduce the structural stability trends, which suggests that they are transferable to different local environments encountered in atomistic simulations of lattice defects.