Molecular-Dynamics Study of the Fundamental Processes Involved in Subplantation of Diamondlike Carbon

Molecular-dynamics simulations of diamondlike carbon film growth from carbon atoms with kinetic energies between 10 and 100 eV are performed. The interatomic forces are calculated by means of an efficient density-functional based tight-binding scheme. The results show that surface processes are dominant for deposition below 30 eV, while subsurface processes govern the structure formation for higher energies. The mechanisms leading to a composite structure of these films characterized by a deep sp³ rich dense layer below a defective surface layer are revealed.