No abstract

No abstract

Amorphous silicon ͑a-Si͒ networks have been generated from melted Si with various quenching rates by molecular-dynamics ͑MD͒ simulations employing the Tersoff potential. The cooling rates were set between 5ϫ10 11 and 1ϫ10 14 K/s; the latter is the slowest quenching rate in MD simulations previously performed. Although the atomic configurations formed by the cooling rate of 10 14 K/s could reproduce the radial distribution function of a-Si obtained experimentally, they contained numerous structural defects such as threefoldand fivefold-coordinated atoms. As the cooling rate decreased, the average coordination number became Ϸ4 and tetrahedral bonds predominated. The structural and dynamical properties of a-Si generated by a cooling rate with ϳ10 12 K/s were in excellent agreement with those of a-Si obtained experimentally.

No abstract

No abstract