Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of self-organized pattern formation in thin film deposition

Abstract

We study the growth kinetics of thin semiconducting or dielectric films by means of kinetic Monte Carlo simulations (KMC). In homoepitactic systems three different regimes (homogeneous, granular and globular growth) are found, depending upon the growth conditions. In heteroepitaxy of strained semiconductor systems like e.g. InAs on GaAs, it is important to take into account self-consistently the strain-field which is generated during the growth process. Thereby we can explain the self-organized formation of islands (quantum dots) in the Stranski–Krastanov growth mode. The seemingly contradictory features of kinetic versus thermodynamic behavior of self-organized growth of quantum dots can be resolved by KMC simulations covering the crossover from the kinetic to the thermodynamic regime.