Controlled topography production - True 3D simulation and experiment

Abstract A true 3D computer program, named DINESE, has been developed to simulate the evolution of real 3D structures during erosion and deposition. It is based on the generalized Huygens reconstruction formalism of surface evolution and can predict the evolution of any surface of the form z = f(x,y) resulting from any erosion or deposition process. True 3D computer simulations of a number of cases are presented and compared with experiment. The powers of the simulation method are further demonstrated by a series of sequential predictive simulations resulting in a desired topography which is then verified experimentally under the same sequence of conditions. Specifically, the evolution of different Si3N4 structures during ion beam etching with Ar ions under different erosion conditions has been studied both numerically and experimentally.

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