Electromigration Effects at Epitaxial Growth of Thin Films: Phase-Field Modeling

Abstract

he epitaxial growth of thin films with regard for the anisotropy of the adsorbate surface dif-fusion induced by electromigration effects has been studied theoretically in the framework ofthe phase-field theory and with the use of numerical simulations. The influence of the coef-ficient of electromigration-induced anisotropic diffusion, which is proportional to the appliedelectric field strength, on the dynamics of growth of the film thickness and the height of sur-face structures, growing surface morphology, statistical characteristics of the surface multilayeradsorbate structures, and distribution of surface structures over their heights is revealed.