Molecular dynamics simulation of Co thin films growth on Cu(001)

Abstract Results of MD simulations of the structure of ultrathin films of Co on Cu(001) are presented. Growth conditions corresponding to vacuum evaporation as well as laser ablation are considered. The dynamics of the growth process and the structure of the as-deposited films are investigated as a function of the kinetic energy of adatoms. The effect of fast interdiffusion due to a high impact energy is observed. Tight-binding potentials in the second-moment approximation are used. Co–Cu interaction parameters are determined from ab-initio electronic structure calculations.