Enhancement of Surface Diffusivity for Waviness Evolution on Heteroepitaxial Thin Films

Abstract

The present study deals with a numerical analysis on the island growth of heteroepitaxial thin-films through local surface diffusivity enhancement. A non-linear governing equation for the surface waviness evolution in lattice-mismatched material systems is developed for the case of spatially-varying surface diffusivity. Results show that a flat film that is stable under constant diffusivity conditions evolves to form nanostructures upon externally-induced spatial diffusivity modulation. The periodicity of waviness can be controlled by changing the modulation parameters, which allows for generation of pattern arrays. The present study therefore points towards a post-deposition treatment technique that achieves controllability and order in the structure formation process for applications in nanoelectronics and thin-film devices.