Atomistic study of surface vacancy diffusion

Abstract

Diffusion of atoms and molecules on surfaces plays an important role in the growth of thin films. In the present study, the surface vacancy diffusion on Cu and Ni (100) and (111) planes is investigated via atomistic simulations. This investigation is performed using the Embedded Atom Method (EAM) interatomic potentials and the finite temperature properties are determined within the local harmonic and quasiharmonic frameworks. This study helps reveal fundamentals of surface vacancy diffusion in the thin film growth. Our results show that the vacancy diffusion is important on (100) surface but it is not the dominant diffusion mechanism on (111) plane.