MODELING OF THIN FILM GROWTH ON A TILTED MISCUT SUBSTRATE: STATISTICAL PROPERTIES AND THE OPTIMUM GROWTH CONDITIONS

Abstract

Most studies of thin film growth simulations are performed on flat substrates. However, in reality, a substrate is usually miscut leading to a vicinal surface with a small tilt. The goal of this work is to study effects of an initial configuration of a miscut substrate on the grown film. The Das Sarma–Tamborenea model with modified diffusion rules is used for the simulations. The modification is done to allow variation in the surface diffusion length and mobility of adatoms. The results show that the optimum conditions that lead to step-flow growth are long diffusion length and small step height.