Dependence of the Thin Films Porosity On the Deposition Conditions: Results of the Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Abstract

Dependence of the thin films porosity on substrate temperature and deposition energy is studied using the classical atomistic simulation. It is revealed that pore dimensions increase with the decrease of the energy of deposited atoms. In the case of low-energy deposition up to several percents of cluster volume are available for atoms and small molecules having van der Waals radii less than 0.2 nm. Dimensions of pores can achieve several nanometers. The growth of substrate temperature from 300 to 500 K results in the decrease of porosity. Structural properties of deposited films vary insignificantly with the variation of energy distribution of deposited atoms if the average energy is fixed.