Dislocation Nucleation and Propagation During Deposition of Cubic Metal Thin Films

Abstract

In this paper we present three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulations of dislocation nucleation and propagation during thin film deposition. Aiming to identify mechanisms of dislocation nucleation in polycrystalline thin films, we choose the film material to be the same as the substrate - which is stressed. Tungsten and aluminum are taken as representatives of BCC and FCC metals, respectively, in the molecular dynamics simulations. Our studies show that both glissile and sessile dislocations are nucleated during the deposition, and surface steps are preferential nucleation sites of dislocations. Further, the results indicate that dislocations nucleated on slip systems with large Schmid factors more likely survive and propagate into the film. When a glissile dislocation is nucleated, it propagates much faster horizontally than vertically into the film. The mechanisms and criteria of dislocation nucleation are essential to the implementation of the atomistic simulator ADEPT.