The incident angle effect of Al adatom on the growth morphology of Al/Ni(001) system: Molecular dynamics simulation

Abstract

The morphology of Al thin-film growth on an Ni(001) substrate according to the variation incident energy of adatoms was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. Al atoms apparently favored the layer-by-layer growth mode at a low incident angle. The growth mode of Al film was, however, changed to follow the island growth mode according to the increasing adatom incident angle. Interestingly, the steering effect due to atomic attraction, which results in rougher surface, was significantly observed. The steering effect was quantitatively investigated through the extensive measurement of the trajectory with the variation of incident energy and incident angle near the artificially structured Al step positioned on the Ni surface.