Heterogeneous crystallization of amorphous silicon expedited by external force fields: a molecular dynamics study

Abstract

Applying a molecular dynamics simulation technique with the Tersoff potential, we investigate the isothermal crystallization processes of amorphous silicon (a-Si). To obtain a realistic amorphous structure, a rapid quenching process from liquid-phase at 3500 K to solid-phase at 500 K is simulated at a rate of 10 12 K/s and the Voronoi analysis is conducted to observe atomic structural changes during this cooling process. This amorphous structure is utilized to simulate the crystallization processes at various process temperatures with and without external force fields. While homogeneous crystallization of a-Si could not be achieved readily, it is shown that the heterogeneous crystallization can be significantly accelerated by external force fields. This enhancement is owing to increased molecular jumping frequencies associated with the molecular potential energies being increased by external excitations, rather than due to thermal mechanisms normally found in conventional solid-phase crystallization processes.