Monte-Carlo master equation method for a simulation of epitaxial growth dynamics

Monte-Carlo master equation (MCME) method has been proposed to simulate the structural evolution of epitaxial growth system in relatively large scale (10(3)-10(6) atoms). It enables us to describe the structural evolution of epitaxial growth in both single-element and binary system. Probabilities, such as adsorption, scattering. desorption, atomic-site jump(diffusion), are taken into account in the manner of master equation. which describe a local reaction energetics of growing surface atoms. Growth simulations of three types of conditions: equilibrium, super-cooling and super-saturation, have been made for Si humoepitaxy on Si(001). The results showed the clear difference in the features of growth rate and roughness among these conditions. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. PACS: 81.10.Aj, 82.20.Wt; 68.45.Da.