Study of epitaxial growth of diamond-like semiconductor films by computer simulation

Abstract

The Monte‐Carlo method is used to simulate the epitaxial growth of semiconductor films with a diamond‐type lattice. Probabilities of isolation, attachment, and diffusion displacements of atoms on the substrate surface are determined for the growth on the (100) and (111) planes. The area of 12 × 12 atoms is chosen for the growth simulation, the periodic regional conditions are preset for excluding boundary effects. The number of the nearest neighbours and the possibility of formation of vacancies are taken into account. The coordinates of atoms are chosen by random numbers, then the possible events are analysed in accordance with the temperature of substrate, supersaturation, diffusion coefficient, and atomic binding energy. The rate of growth, the critical film thickness, and the growth surface roughness are determined. The epitaxial silicon growth occurs faster on the (100) plane but the (111) plane is more smooth. The influence of time, temperature, supersaturation on the film growth rate, and on the film surface roughness is traced. The comparison of computer results with experimental data permits to describe more exactly the mechanism of film growth with allowing for the time of adatom building‐in into a lattice from the position of physical adsorption on the substrate surface.

Monte Carlo Simulations of Molecular Beam Epitaxy on Si(001) Surfaces

“…Only initial attemps have been made, using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) (4,5) and Monte Carlo simulations (6), to understand Si MBE growth processes. The results show that Si MBE homoepitaxy is characterized by a layer-by-layer (Frank-van der Merwe) growth mechanism.…”

“…Initial reports of the simulation of heteroepitaxy have also been made (13). A Monte Carlo simulation of Si growth has also been reported (6). However, since most of these crystal growth simulations model a simple cubic crystal and none account for surface reconstructions, they do not provide an accurate depiction of Present address: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Materials Research Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208-9990.…”