Phase-Field Simulations of Thin-Film Evolution During Heteroepitaxy |
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Collaborators: Peter Voorhees, John Lowengrub, Steven Wise, Dan Gogswell, Nirand Pisutha-Arnond
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Materials:
Nanomaterials
Application: Nanotechnology Technique: Computation |
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In collaboration with Northwestern University and University of California, Irvine, we examine the evolution of thin films during heteroepitaxy. In semiconductor thin films, such as Ge on Si, spontaneous formation of nano-scale structures occur due to the stress caused by the difference in the lattice parameters of the substrate and film materials. Such natural tendency can be applied to develop a method for self-assembly of quantum dot array. The phase-field model utilizes advanced numerical methods such as the multigrid method and variable mesh. |