This research project, which is supported in the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, addresses the detailed mechanisms of metal thin film growth. Professors Evans and Thiel at Iowa State University will combine experimental studies of growth mechanism and morphology, using scanning probe microscopy and high resolution low energy electron diffraction measurements, with theoretical modelling of these processes. The theoretical approaches are based on atomistic lattice-gas models, and incorporate Monte Carlo molecular dynamics methods. The interaction between theory and experiment helps to define the complex model systems under study, which include both homoepitaxial and heteroepitaxial growth. Emphasis in this work is on uncovering the detailed atomic level mechanisms of the growth of metal thin films. These metal thin films are technologically important in the manufacture of electronic devices, in the packaging and coatings industry, and in optical material synthesis. A detailed understanding of the growth process is developed by a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches, including scanning probe microscopy, electron diffraction, and molecular dynamics modelling.
