Simulation of structural anisotropy and void formation in amorphous thin films

Abstract

We have computer simulated the structure of thin amorphous films grown from a vapor. Our hard-sphere model shows that structural anisotropy and voids are a natural occurrence of the deposition process. The amount of unfilled space (voids) and the anisotropy have been studied as a function of the angle of incidence of the vapor stream upon the substrate.