Kinetic Lattice Monte Carlo Simulation of Cu Thin Film Growth
动力学晶格蒙特卡洛方法模拟Cu薄膜生长

The Cu thin film growth process on Cu (100) metal substrate is investigated using a three-dimensional kinetic lattice Monte Carlo (KLMC) method. Four kinetic processes are included in our model: deposition, adatom diffusion, dimer diffusion and ledge adatom diffusion. The activation energies for these three diffusion events are calculated using the embedded-atom method. The dependence of the Cu thin film growth on process parameters, including substrate temperature, deposition rate and coverage, is discussed using the KLMC model. The results show that, as the substrate temperature increases or the deposition rate decreases, the average size of the islands becomes bigger and the number of the islands decreases. As the temperature is low, the film shows fractal growth; at higher temperature, the island becomes compact and more regular in shape. And the higher the temperature, the smaller the Cu thin film surface roughness. When the substrate temperature is lower than the transion temperature, the surface roughness increases as the deposition rate and (or) the coverage increases. At higher temperature, the surface roughness is almost the same for different deposition rates or the coverage.