EME Seminar

Research School of Physics and Engineering, CANBERRA ACT 0200

Tuesday 11 August 2009
at 11.00 am
in the Link Building Seminar Room

Dr. Marcus Karolewski
University of Brunei Darussalam

"Molecular dynamics simulation of ion bombardment and deposition phenomena"

Molecular dynamics (MD) is an atomistic technique for materials simulation within the framework of classical dynamics. It can be used for purely investigative simulations of phenomena, or for modelling experimental outcomes, but in either case provides a detailed picture of the fundamental processes initiated by particle-solid collisions that is not available by other means. Since the 1960s, MD has been used to study irradiation effects such as sputtering, radiation damage and ion transport. Recent MD studies are often motivated by an interest in nanoscale phenomena. The seminar will discuss the current status of MD simulations of processes that employ energetic particles (1 eV to 10 keV) for materials characterization or fabrication. The physics of a MD simulation is encapsulated in the interatomic potential, which determines material dependent behaviour such as melting, bond strengths, phonon properties, nuclear stopping, etc. Typically, MD simulations of ion bombardment deal with fcc, bcc and hcp metals (and their impurities), binary alloys/interfaces of these metals, or silicon. The suitability of MD for simulation of other materials depends upon the availability of interatomic potentials that behave well under the extreme physical conditions that prevail in collision cascades.