Molecular-dynamics simulation of germanium film growth by cluster deposition

Ge films have been grown by depositing Ge-atom clusters with different initial energies on Si(001) substrates with molecular-dynamics simulations utilizing the Stillinger-Weber (SW) many-body potentials for Ge and Si. The structural properties and the stress distribution of the films have been characterized. We find that the films formed by depositing the clusters with higher initial energies have better qualities and the stress values in such films are a little higher. We have also compared the stress value with the experimental data. In addition, we find that the stress distribution is more gradual throughout the system in the case of higher cluster energy. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.