Simulation of Microstructure Formation during Thin Film Deposition

Abstract

We describe an approach to studying grain structure formation in polycrystalline thin films during deposition from the vapor phase using a "grain continuum" representation of the solid. We employ three codes in concert to track the development of grains while accounting for ballistic transport and surface reaction kinetics. We show that higher precursor reactivities might well lead to higher void fractions near the substrate surface.