Atomistic Simulations of Fracture in Semiconductors

Abstract

Semiconductors are the materials that underlie nearly all modern electron ics. They include elemental solids, such as silicon and germanium, as well as compounds such as gallium arsenide and silicon carbide. Since their main use is in electronic applications, semiconductors are not usually thought of as structural materials. Nevertheless there are important reasons, both technological and scientific, for the study of mechanical properties of semiconductors. The developing field of micro-machines, from micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) to nanotechnology, relies on fabrication techniques developed for electronic devices to make microscopic mechanical system. To a large extent it is the link between these fabrication techniques, including deposition, masking, and etching, and the materials that has driven the use of semiconductors as structural components. On a more fundamental level, the ability to fabricate extremely pure and nearly defect free samples makes semiconductors excellent model systems for studying the physics of fracture. In this section I will attempt to give an overview of the ways in which atomistic simulations have been applied to fracture in semiconductors using a number of illustrative examples.