Dynamical basis of the mesoscopic morphologies of thin solid films

Thin solid films grown by physical vapor deposition exhibit diverse
characteristic mesoscopic morphologies depending on the dynamical
parameters of the deposition process. These universal morphologies have
been summarized on successive empirical models known as Structure Zone
Models (SZM). The first SZM introduced for physical vapor deposition
under simple experimental conditions distinguishes two main
characteristic morphology zones obtained by varying the leading
deposition parameters, the substrate temperature and the deposition
rate. We study in detail the effect of these parameters on the bulk
morphologies of films by means of an atomistic mesoscopic simulation
model of ballistic aggregation with surface diffusion. Simulation
results in two and three dimensions for diverse bonding symmetries are
presented.