Diffusion-dependent Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulation of Thin Film Growth

The epitaxial growth of thin film is simulated by Kinetic Monte Carlo method in three dimensions. The effect of interaction between particles is described using Morse potential. In the model, three processes are considered: particle deposition, adatom diffusion and adatom evaporation. A parameter which limits the maximum steps that a particle is permitted to migrate on the film surface is introduced for describing the diffusion of particles. The results show that film growth mode gradually transforms from multilayer growth to smooth layer-by-layer growth with increasing diffusion steps.