The simulation of growth process of thin film on nonplanar substrate

In (2+1) dimension, growth process of thin film on non-planar substrate in Kuramoto-Sivashinsky (K-S) model is studied with the numerical simulation approach. 15×15 semi-ellipsoids arranged orderly on the surface of substrate are used to represent initial rough surface of substrate. The results show that at the initial stage of growth process, the interface width constantly decreases with the growth time, then it reaches minimum. However, with the increase of growth time, the granules of different sizes distributes evenly on the surface of thin film. Whereafter the size of granules and the interface width gradually increase with the growth time, and the surface of thin film presents fractal properties.© (2004) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.