Computer simulation of AlCoCuFeNi high-entropy alloy thin film deposition and crystallization

Abstract

The processes of deposition and crystallization of high-entropy AlCoCuFeNi alloy thin film on a substrate of silicon (100) are studied by classical molecular dynamics simulation. Total simulation time reaches 50 ns. The embedded atom model is used to describe the interaction among Al–Co–Cu–Ni–Fe. Interaction between the atoms of Al, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, and the Si substrate is described using the Lennard–Jones potential, and the interaction between the silicon atoms was modeled using the Stillinger–Weber potential. It is found that at the first stage of deposition small clusters are formed and the process of crystallization starts after ~ 5 ns of simulation, at the characteristic sizes of clusters of about 2 nm. At the end of the simulation, after the 50 ns of modeling, the simulated film contains a face-centered cubic phase, a body-centered cubic phase, a hexagonal close-packed phase, and an amorphous phase. An analysis of the radial distribution of atoms makes it possible to determine the distances between the nearest neighbors and estimate the lattice parameters of these phases.