The early stage of formation of self-organized nanocolumns in thin films: Monte Carlo simulations versus atomic-scale observations in Ge-Mn

Journal Article · Fri Feb 07 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4864271· OSTI ID:22278117

Mouton, I.; Pareige, C.; Lardé, R.; Blavette, D. ^[1]

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1. Groupe de Physique des Matériaux (GPM) UMR 6634, Normandie Université, Université et INSA de Rouen - CNRS, Av. de l'Université, BP 12, 76801 Saint Etienne du Rouvray (France)

Formation kinetics of self-organized nanocolumns during epitaxial growth of a thin film composed of immiscible elements (A,B) has been investigated using Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Simulated nanostructures show a good agreement with those observed in Ge-Mn using Atom Probe Tomography and Transmission Electron Microscopy. Self organisation is observed although the rigid lattice simulations used do not account for misfit elastic strain. Simulations reveal that the final nanostructure, in term of number density and diameter of nanocolumns, is controlled by the early stages of growth of the film. The influence of both growth temperature and solute concentration on the nanostructure features is discussed in details.

• OSTI ID: 22278117
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 115, Issue 5; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CONCENTRATION RATIO
CRYSTAL LATTICES
ELASTICITY
EPITAXY
GERMANIUM
MANGANESE
MONTE CARLO METHOD
NANOSTRUCTURES
STRAINS
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
THIN FILMS
TOMOGRAPHY
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY