Molecular-dynamics simulation of growth of nanocrystals in an amorphous matrix

Using germanium as an example we study the growth of crystalline nuclei by molecular dynamics. Starting with crystalline nuclei of different sizes embedded in an amorphous matrix we follow the evolution of the system at the atomic level. At a temperature about halfway between absolute zero and the melting temperature, we observe that crystallites of diameter larger than 2.0 nm grow, while smaller crystals disappear.