A two dimensional molecular dynamic (atomistic) simulation model was used to
investigate the relationship between the nano-structure and the deposition parameters; namely,
substrate temperature, deposition rate, angle of incidence, surface roughness. Qualitative
agreements with the predictions of the structure zone model (SZM) and the theoretical results
of Srolovitze and coworkers (1988), as well as expectations through changes in the activated
processes during film growth due to changes in deposition parameters (Grovenor and
coworkers (1984)) are obtained. It is shown that by enhancing the atomic mobility (i.e.,
increasing the substrate temperature or/and lowering the deposition rate) films of higher
density with fewer voids are produced. By increasing the deposition angle, the nano-structure
of the film changes from a dense film with few voids, to a nano-structure with
columns/boundless inclined with the same angle ( β ) towards the incidence atoms with
elongated voids. The angle β increases with increasing the deposition angle (α ), and in
agreement with the tangent rule (Dirks and Leamy (1977)). The angle of bundles (or the angle
of the formation of the voids between atomic bundles), and columnar structure are caused by
shadowing effects. Results showed that β decreases slowly with increasing surface mobility
(i.e., increasing the substrate temperature or/and reducing the deposition rate).
In general, the model provides almost all predicted results and agrees well with
observation
