The role of particle energy and pulsed particle flux in physical vapor deposition and pulsed–laser deposition

Surface morphology evolution of thin films generated by physical and pulsed-laser deposition depending on the incident particle energy and the pulse rate is investigated using a continuum growth model. The model includes curvature-induced surface diffusion, the Schwoebel barrier and surface atom displacement as main surface processes. The numerical solution of the model is in very good agreement with the results of kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, which also serve to estimate the continuum growth parameters, and with experimental results on thin Si films. The increase of the incident particle energy, starting from thermal energy, fundamentally influences the surface topography, changing from self-affine to self-organized morphology.