A Self-Evolving Machine-Learning-Based Kinetic Monte Carlo Method for Modelling Thin-Film Growth

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Hauptverfasser: Kimari, Jyri, Djurabekova, Flyura, Sarakinos, Kostas
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Kimari, Jyri
Djurabekova, Flyura
Sarakinos, Kostas
author_facet Kimari, Jyri
Djurabekova, Flyura
Sarakinos, Kostas
contents We present a kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulation framework parameterized by automatically sampling machine-learning (ML) for modeling thin-film growth atom by atom. Given an interatomic potential energy function, the KMC algorithm builds an ML-based regression model for rate parameters on runtime, being trained on the local atomic environments encountered during the system evolution. New environments are continuously added to the training set in a self-evolving manner at points where the ML model estimates high uncertainty. As the simulation progresses, the ML model gains confidence, and the quick estimation of rates increasingly overtakes the relatively-expensive nudged elastic band calculations, promoting computational efficiency while retaining high fidelity description of the atomic diffusion kinetics. As a test case, we simulate the sub-monolayer growth of Ag on Ag {111}, where we demonstrate adatom islands forming in shapes and densities in accordance with the underlying atomistic interaction model, the theoretical framework, and available experimental results related to thin-film nucleation and growth.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_31144
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Self-Evolving Machine-Learning-Based Kinetic Monte Carlo Method for Modelling Thin-Film Growth
Kimari, Jyri
Djurabekova, Flyura
Sarakinos, Kostas
Materials Science
We present a kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulation framework parameterized by automatically sampling machine-learning (ML) for modeling thin-film growth atom by atom. Given an interatomic potential energy function, the KMC algorithm builds an ML-based regression model for rate parameters on runtime, being trained on the local atomic environments encountered during the system evolution. New environments are continuously added to the training set in a self-evolving manner at points where the ML model estimates high uncertainty. As the simulation progresses, the ML model gains confidence, and the quick estimation of rates increasingly overtakes the relatively-expensive nudged elastic band calculations, promoting computational efficiency while retaining high fidelity description of the atomic diffusion kinetics. As a test case, we simulate the sub-monolayer growth of Ag on Ag {111}, where we demonstrate adatom islands forming in shapes and densities in accordance with the underlying atomistic interaction model, the theoretical framework, and available experimental results related to thin-film nucleation and growth.
title A Self-Evolving Machine-Learning-Based Kinetic Monte Carlo Method for Modelling Thin-Film Growth
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.31144