Diffusion-Dependent Pattern Formation on Crystal Surfaces

Abstract

The growth of a crystal is usually determined by its surface. Many factors influence the growth dynamics. Energy barriers associated with the presence of steps most often decide about the emerging pattern. The height and type of Ehrlich-Schwoebel step barriers lead to the growth of nanocolumns, nanowires, pyramids, and bunches or meanders in the same system. Surface diffusion is another factor that determines the nature of growth. We used the (2+1)D cellular automaton model to investigate the additional effect of diffusion along with step barriers. We show that when we only change the diffusion rate, the length of the meanders or the height of the bunches increase, while the cracked structure of the nanopillars changes into very long, tall nanowires. We show that the length of the step-step correlation is a good characterization of the resulting patterns.

References in corpus (4)

• Coexistence of bunching and meandering instability in simulated growth of 4H-SiC(0001) surface
• Step bunching with both directions of the current: Vicinal W(110) surfaces versus atomistic scale model
• Z3 Charge Density Wave of Silicon Atomic Chains on a Vicinal Silicon Surface
• Au-Assisted Substrate-Faceting for Inclined Nanowire Growth

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Step meandering: The balance between the potential well and the Ehrlich-Schwoebel barrier
• Surface Patterns Shaped by Additives in Crystals
• Engineering 2D Surface Patterns with the VicCa Model
• Morphological Transition: From Meanders to Mound Structures