A local interaction simulation approach to the analysis of thin-film growth

Several models have been developed for studying growth patterns and the formation of rough surfaces and interfaces. An analytical treatment of these models, leading to a prediction of the time evolution of the system, is, however, usually inadequate to describe the properties of the bulk of the deposited film. As a consequence, numerical simulations become the only viable alternative. In this contribution we present st preliminary model, based on the local interaction simulation approach, for the description of thin semiconducting films growth. The proposed approach allows us to include in the model all kinds of local mechanisms and/or non-trivial boundary conditions. A few numerical results are presented, showing good qualitative agreement with experimental data. Reliable simulations with a very good resolution may be performed in a reasonable central processing unit time, if parallel processing is adopted.