A NEW APPROACH TO SIMULATE THE MORPHOLOGY OF THIN-FILMS

We propose a new kinetic growth model to describe the condensation pro cess of thin metallic films. The model is based on attractive short-ra nge interactions between condensed atoms and takes into account all po ssible growth processes considered earlier in the so-called rate equat ion approach. The consequences of the model are simply worked out by M onte Carlo simulations. We show that the morphologies of the films gen erated by the simulations are in excellent agreement with experimental ly grown gold films, demonstrating the reliability of the model.