Modeling thermal decay of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures

MARCOS F. CASTEZ; ROBERTO C. SALVAREZZA

Applied Physics Letters

American Institute of Physics

Año: 2009 vol. 94 p. 531031 - 531033

0003-6951

A multiapproach modeling of surface diffusion driven decay of three dimensional high-aspect-ratio nanostructures is presented. Three different strategies are used: a continuous model, kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, and a molecular dynamics approach using an embedded atom model potential. All these models predict that an initially single-valued surface evolves into an intermediate multivalued state, in which features on the surface develop into a nonconvex shape. Moreover, such nanofeatures in the case of discrete models are quite well described in terms of the continuous modeling. Quantitative bounds for the aspect-ratios in which emergence of overhangs starts are estimated.