| As nano-technology continues to revolutionize our daily lives, nano-engineered materials take on a more prominent role. One example of a nano-engineered material is that of sculptured thin films. Sculptured thin films or STFs are a special class of thin films that have a characteristic shape imparted to them on the nano-scale, during the deposition process. This characteristic shape can be that of a zig-zag, chevron, or helices. Applications for these STFs vary from micro-electronics to medical applications, however, it is most likely that the best use of them is yet to be discovered.; As with any engineering problem, simulation can play a key role in gaining understanding and insight. This is certainly true with the deposition of STFs as well. However, the simulation of an STF entails the capability of simulating each and every atom that makes up the STF. It is the manipulation of the impinging film atoms, during the deposition, that produce the characteristic shape. Luckily, today's fast computer processors coupled with an atomistic simulation method called Molecular Dynamics allows for such a simulation.; This work focused on the use of a custom parallel Molecular Dynamics program for the simulation of cluster formation during very early stages of STF growth. Once the simulated thin film morphology was obtained, a qualitative analysis of the simulated thin film morphology was performed by visualizing the thin film surface. A qualitative analysis of the thin film morphology was also performed by estimating the fractal dimension of the simulated surface via the Slit-Island Method. |
