Monte Carlo Simulation of Epitaxial Growth

A numerical Monte Carlo (MC) model is described in detail to simulate epitaxial growth. This model allows the formation of structural defects, like substitutional defects and vacancies, and desorption of adsorbed atoms on the surface. The latter feature supports the study of epitaxial growth at very high kinetic regime. The model proposed here is applied to simulate the homoepitaxial growth of Si. The results obtained fit well to the experimental reports on (0 0 1) silicon homoepitaxy. The easy implementation of a large number of microscopic processes and the three-dimensional spatial information during the film growth suggests that the model can be applied to simulate the growth of binary, ternary, or more compounds and even the growth of superlattices and heterostructures.