Probing growth precursor diffusion lengths by inter-surface diffusion

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Hauptverfasser: Janssens, Stoffel D., Neto, Francisco S. Forte, Vázquez-Cortés, David, Duda, Fernando P., Fried, Eliot
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Janssens, Stoffel D.
Neto, Francisco S. Forte
Vázquez-Cortés, David
Duda, Fernando P.
Fried, Eliot
author_facet Janssens, Stoffel D.
Neto, Francisco S. Forte
Vázquez-Cortés, David
Duda, Fernando P.
Fried, Eliot
contents Understanding and optimizing thin-film synthesis requires measuring the diffusion length $d_α$ of adsorbed growth precursors. Despite technological advances, in-situ measurements of $d_α$ are often unachievable due to harsh deposition conditions, such as high temperatures or reactive environments. In this paper, we propose a fitting approach to determine $d_α$ from experimental data by leveraging inter-surface diffusion between a substrate and a strip obtained by, for example, processing a film. The substrate serves as a source or sink of precursors, influencing the growth dynamics and shaping the profile of the strip. By fitting simulated profiles to given profiles, we demonstrate that $d_α$ can be determined. To achieve this, we develop a theoretical growth model, a simulation strategy, and a fitting procedure. The growth model incorporates inter-surface diffusion, adsorption, and desorption of growth precursors, with growth being proportional to the concentration of adsorbed precursors. In our simulations, a chain of nodes represents a profile, and growth is captured by the displacement of those nodes, while keeping the node density approximately constant. For strips significantly wider than $d_α$, a scaled precursor concentration and $d_α$ are the fitting parameters that are determined by minimizing a suitably defined measure of the distance between simulated and given profiles. We evaluate the robustness of our procedure by analyzing the effect of profile resolution and noise on the fitted parameters. Our approach can offer valuable insights into thin-film growth processes, such as those occurring during plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_03484
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Probing growth precursor diffusion lengths by inter-surface diffusion
Janssens, Stoffel D.
Neto, Francisco S. Forte
Vázquez-Cortés, David
Duda, Fernando P.
Fried, Eliot
Materials Science
Chemical Physics
Understanding and optimizing thin-film synthesis requires measuring the diffusion length $d_α$ of adsorbed growth precursors. Despite technological advances, in-situ measurements of $d_α$ are often unachievable due to harsh deposition conditions, such as high temperatures or reactive environments. In this paper, we propose a fitting approach to determine $d_α$ from experimental data by leveraging inter-surface diffusion between a substrate and a strip obtained by, for example, processing a film. The substrate serves as a source or sink of precursors, influencing the growth dynamics and shaping the profile of the strip. By fitting simulated profiles to given profiles, we demonstrate that $d_α$ can be determined. To achieve this, we develop a theoretical growth model, a simulation strategy, and a fitting procedure. The growth model incorporates inter-surface diffusion, adsorption, and desorption of growth precursors, with growth being proportional to the concentration of adsorbed precursors. In our simulations, a chain of nodes represents a profile, and growth is captured by the displacement of those nodes, while keeping the node density approximately constant. For strips significantly wider than $d_α$, a scaled precursor concentration and $d_α$ are the fitting parameters that are determined by minimizing a suitably defined measure of the distance between simulated and given profiles. We evaluate the robustness of our procedure by analyzing the effect of profile resolution and noise on the fitted parameters. Our approach can offer valuable insights into thin-film growth processes, such as those occurring during plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition.
title Probing growth precursor diffusion lengths by inter-surface diffusion
topic Materials Science
Chemical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.03484