硅团簇的结构及生长模式——紧束缚分子动力学：Si11—Si32

采用紧束缚分子动力学模拟硅团簇的结构，通过比较它们的结合能来确定基态结构，最后描绘出不同尺寸所对应的径向分布函数、角分布函数.模拟表明硅团簇在n=27处发生结构转变，从结构图上看，是由扁长结构向近球形结构转变.从径向分布函数图像、键角分布函数图像上也可以得到团簇结构在n=27处发生了变化，结构变得越来越紧密. 关键词： 硅团簇 紧束缚分子动力学 模拟退火 基态结构     

Nan(5≤n≤10)小团簇相变

采用紧束缚的分子动力学模型,对Nan(5≤n≤10)小团簇的键长涨落、势能、热容量等熔化性质在50 K～1500 K温区进行了模拟研究,结果表明:它们发生两次相变,一种在230 K～300 K的温度范围内,依次有块体玻璃态转变;一种在550 K～870 K温度段,依次经历了熔化相变.同时也得到随着团簇体系的减小,势能由下向上排列的曲线,即体系的势能由低变高.     

纳米团簇熔化过程的分子动力学模拟

本文采用分子动力学结合嵌入原子多体势,模拟了不同半径的Ni纳米团簇的升温熔化过程,研究团簇尺寸对熔点和表面能的影响.模拟结果表明:团簇的熔点显著低于体材料的熔点.团簇熔化的过程首先是在团簇的表面出现预熔,然后向团簇内部扩展,直到整个团簇完全熔为液态.在模拟的纳米尺度范围内,团簇的熔点与团簇尺寸基本成线性关系.团簇的表面能随着团簇尺寸的增大而减小,而且表面能均高于体材料的表面能.     

锗团簇Ge65, Ge70, Ge75的稳定结构及其电子结构性质

将两种全局结构搜索方法(压缩液态法、遗传算法)与锗的紧束缚势模 型相互结合, 对Ge₆₅, Ge₇₀, Ge₇₅的稳定结构进行了大规模的搜寻,提 出能量较低的可能结构, 然后进一步利用第一性原理方法对这些低能结构进行精确 的优化计算, 确定出了这三种尺寸团簇的基态结构. 发现这三种团簇各具有两种稳定的并且能量相近的异构体: 类球形和类椭球形, 这与实验上报道的大尺寸团簇Ge_n (65 ≤ n ≤ 80) 的结构特征相符合. 简要地分析了这三种团簇基态结构的电子性质. 关键词： 锗团簇 紧束缚势 遗传算法 压缩液态法     

Al_n(n﹤10000)团簇熔化行为的分子动力学模拟

采用半经验的Gupta原子间多体势,运用分子动力学模拟结合退火技术,由不同初始结构(密堆积满壳层Ih、Oh结构及退火结构)出发,研究了尺寸在10000个原子之内的Al团簇的熔化行为.结果表明:在所研究团簇尺寸范围内,Ih结构均具有高的动力学稳定性;Oh结构的动力学稳定性与团簇尺寸密切相关:尺寸较小(1000个原子以内)时不稳定(熔化前会发生向类Ih结构的转变),在中间尺寸(1000~2000原子间)时动力学稳定性发生转变,尺寸较大(2000原子以上)时显示出完整的动力学稳定性;从不同初始结构出发所得相同尺寸团簇熔点基本相同;在200原子以上时,团簇熔点随尺寸变大而升高且体现出近似的线性关系.     

硅团簇结构和碎片行为的紧束缚理论方法

利用紧束缚分子动力学模拟退火方法研究了硅团簇Sin(n=2—14)的结构性质和能量.通过与前人工作结果(Si2—Si10)的比较,发现本理论方法的结果相当准确地再现了从头计算的结论.对较大的硅团簇所作的计算给出了有意义的结构预测.从能量观点出发,计算结果表明原子数分别为4,6,7,10,12和14的硅团簇较为稳定.还进一步研究了硅团簇的碎片行为,理论计算的结果表明较大的硅团簇的稳定碎片产物通常包括一个或两个“幻数”团簇     

SimGen(m+n=9)团簇结构和电子性质的计算研究

硅锗团簇结构与电子性质的研究对于研发新型微电子材料具有重要意义. 将遗传算法和基于密度泛函理论的紧束缚方法相结合, 研究了Si_mGe_n(m+n=9)团簇的原子堆积结构和电子性质. 计算结果发现, Si_mGe_n(m+n=9) 团簇存在两种低能原子堆积稳定构型: 带小金字塔的五边形双锥堆积和带桥位Ge原子的四面体紧密堆积. 随着团簇内锗原子数目的逐渐增加, 两种堆积结构均出现明显的转变, 其中最低能量的几何结构由单侧带相邻双金字塔的五边形双锥结构转变为双侧带相邻单金字塔的五边形双锥结构. 随着原子堆积结构的变化, 团簇内原子电荷分布及电子最高占据轨道与电子最低未占据轨道的能隙随团簇内所含硅和锗元素组分的不同呈现出明显的差异.     

Cu-Co双金属团簇结构演化及其性质的分子动力学模拟

采用分子动力学结合嵌入原子方法对比研究了Co分布于Cu-Co团簇不同层的结构和性质.研究表明:Co原子分层掺杂可对团簇的结构转变点和熔点进行诱导控制;分层掺杂的Cu-Co团簇第一相变是一种扩散度较小的由立方八面体转变为二十面体的相变;Co原子易于向低能态团簇的亚表层(111)面偏析,从而诱导团簇结构紊乱,造成其熔点差异.     

Cu-Co双金属团簇结构演化及其性质的分子动力学模拟

采用分子动力学结合嵌入原子方法对比研究了Co分布于Cu-Co团簇不同层的结构和性质. 研究表明：Co原子分层掺杂可对团簇的结构转变点和熔点进行诱导控制;分层掺杂的Cu-Co团簇第一相变是一种扩散度较小的由立方八面体转变为二十面体的相变;Co原子易于向低能态团簇的亚表层（111）面偏析, 从而诱导团簇结构紊乱, 造成其熔点差异.     

不同势下铱团簇结构和熔化行为的分子动力学模拟

采用分子动力学方法及淬火技术,结合Gupta势和Sutton-Chen势,模拟研究了包含13,14,55,56,147及148个原子数的铱团簇的熔化行为. 结果表明,Gupta势和Sutton-Chen势对所研究的Ir团簇的基态几何结构和熔化行为给出了基本一致的描述：两种不同势给出了完全相同的基态几何结构;两种势给出的Ir团簇熔点及预熔化区间随团簇尺寸的变化关系基本一致;对于小Ir_n团簇（n=13,14）两类势均表现出比热峰值相对于均方根键长涨落饱和值滞后的现象. 但是 关键词： 铱团簇 分子动力学 Gupta势和Sutton-Chen势 熔化     

Solid-liquid phase transition in small water clusters: a molecular dynamics simulation study

Water clusters, (H₂O) _n , of varying sizes (n = 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, and 40) have been studied at different temperatures from 0 to 200 K using molecular dynamics simulations. Transitions between solid and liquid phases were investigated to estimate the melting temperature of the clusters. Although the melting temperatures showed non-monotonic behaviour as a function of cluster size, their general tendency follows the classical relationship T _m ∝ n ^?1/3 to the cluster size n. Moreover, it was observed that the liquid-solid surface tension decreased with the cluster size in a similar way to the liquid-vapour surface tension in bulk water. Upon cooling, ice-like crystals were formed from the smaller clusters with n up to 20, while the larger clusters were transformed to glassy structures. The decrease in the glass transition temperature with the cluster size was observed to be much less than the corresponding melting temperature. The mutual order of the melting and glass-transition temperatures were found to be reversed compared with that observed for bulk water.     

Influence of electronic and geometric properties on melting of sodium clusters

Systematics of the melting transition for sodium clusters with 40-355 atoms has been studied with both ab initio and semiclassical molecular dynamics simulations. The melting temperatures obtained with an ab initio method for Na₅₅ ⁺ and Na₉₃ ⁺ correlate well with the experimental results. The semiclassically determined melting temperatures show similarities with the experimentally determined ones in the size region from 55 to 93 and near size 142, and the latent heat in the size region from 55 to 139, but not elsewhere in the size region studied. This indicates that the nonmonotonical melting behavior observed experimentally cannot be fully explained by geometrical effects. The semiclassically determined melting temperature and the latent heat correlate quite well, indicating that they respond similarly to changes in cluster geometry and size. Similarly, the binding energy per atom seems to correlate with the melting temperature and the latent heat of fusion.Received: 30 October 2003, Published online: 20 January 2004PACS: 36.40.Ei Phase transitions in clusters     

Simulation of the processes of structuring of copper nanoclusters in terms of the tight-binding potential

The processes of melting and crystallization of copper nanoclusters with a radius ranging from 0.69 to 3.05 nm have been investigated using the molecular dynamics simulation. The performed simulation has shown that the melting begins with the surface of the cluster. Another feature of this phase transition is that it occurs in a temperature range where the liquid and solid phases can coexist. However, it is found that, for small copper clusters, the melting and crystallization temperatures coincide with each other. Moreover, it is established that the parent face-centered cubic structure of these small clusters (N < 150 atoms) transforms into a structure with fivefold symmetry even at temperatures of the order of 150–170 K. The behavior of some thermodynamic characteristics of copper nanoclusters is investigated in the vicinity of the solid-liquid phase transition. Analysis of the data obtained has revealed a number of regularities that are in agreement with the results of analytical calculations. In particular, the melting and crystallization temperatures of copper nanoparticles are linear functions of N ^?1/3. However, the melting heat ΔH _m and the melting entropy ΔS _m vary in a more complex manner. It is noted that the formation of a cluster structure depends on the conditions used for cooling from the liquid phase. Slow cooling results predominantly in the formation of a face-centered cubic phase, whereas rapid cooling in the majority of cases leads to the formation of an icosahedral modification. Therefore, the simulation performed has demonstrated the possibility of controlling the formation of a structure of copper nanoclusters during crystallization.     

Coalescence process of monodispersed Co cluster assemblies

Cluster-cluster coalescence process of monodispersed Co clusters with mean diameter d = 8.5 and 13 nm deposited a plasma-gas-condensation-type cluster beam deposition system was investigated by in situ electrical conductivity measurements and ex situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and analyzed by percolation concept. The electrical conductivity measurement and TEM observation indicated that, below temperature T≈ 100^°C, the Co clusters in the assemblies maintain their original structure as deposited at room temperature, while that the inter-cluster coalescence takes place at T > 100^°C, although the size distribution and the interface morphology of the clusters showed no marked change at substrate temperatures T _s≤200^°C. Received 29 November 2000     

Surface morphology of metal films deposited on mica at various temperatures observed by atomic force microscopy

Thin films of eight metals with a thickness of 150 nm were deposited on mica substrates by thermal evaporation at various temperatures in a high vacuum. The surface morphology of the metal films was observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the images were characterized quantitatively by a roughness analysis and a bearing analysis (surface height analysis). The films of Au, Ag, Cu, and Al with the high melting points were prepared at homologous temperatures T/T_m = 0.22-0.32, 0.40, and 0.56. The films of In, Sn, Bi, and Pb with the low melting points were prepared at T/T_m = 0.55-0.70, where T and T_m are the absolute temperatures of the mica substrate and the melting point of the metal, respectively. The surface morphology of these metal films was studied based on a structure zone model. The film surfaces of Au, Ag, and Cu prepared at the low temperatures (T/T_m = 0.22-0.24) consist of small round grains with diameters of 30-60 nm and heights of 2-7 nm. The surface heights of these metal films distribute randomly around the surface height at 0 nm and the morphology is caused by self-shadowing during the deposition. The grain size becomes large due to surface diffusion of adatoms and the film surfaces have individual characteristic morphology and roughnesses as T increases. The surface of the Al film becomes very smooth as T increases and the atomically smooth surface is obtained at T/T_m = 0.56-0.67 (250-350 °C). On the other hand, the atomically smooth surface of the Au film is obtained at T/T_m = 0.56 (473 ± 3 °C). The films of In, Sn, Bi, and Pb prepared at T/T_m = 0.55-0.70 also show the individual characteristic surface morphology.     

Silicon cluster formation in the laser ablation of SiO at 308 nm

Neutral silicon cluster formation in the laser (308 nm) ablation of silicon monoxide was investigated through the analysis of composition and dynamics of the ablation plume under different laser fluence conditions. The neutral species were ionized by a second laser (193 nm) and the positionized species detected by TOF-MS (time-of-flight mass spectrometry). At low laser fluences, plume composition is dominated by SiO; above 0.6 J/cm² Si, SiO and Si₂ have comparable intensity and Si_n (n≤7) clusters are observed. Flow velocities and temperatures of the ejected species are nearly mass-independent, indicating that the plume dynamics are close to the strong expansion limit, implying a collisional regime. Through the relation between the estimated values of terminal flow velocity and surface temperature, u_T²∝T_S, it is found that, at low laser fluences, the surface temperature increases linearly with laser fluence, whereas, at the laser fluence at which Si_n clusters are observed, the increase of temperature is below the linear dependence. The population distribution of the ejected Si_n provides some indication of a formation mechanism based on condensation. Analogies between the ablation behavior of silicon monoxide and silicon targets are considered. PACS 82.30.Nr; 81.05.Gc; 78.70.-g     

Neutron radiation damage in zirconium and its alloys

There has been much research and speculation recently on the nature of radiation induced defects in zirconium and its alloys, and in particular on the absence of voids at high fluences and temperatures in the range 0.3 to 0.5 T _m (T _m is the absolute melting temperature). Wolfenden and Farrell¹ have reviewed the evidence and suggest that α-Zr has so far resisted void formation during neutron irradiation because of: (a) the absence of a dislocation (loop or tangle) structure and/or (b) a low insoluble gas (e.g. helium) content.     

On viscous mechanism for surface diffusion at high temperatures (T/Tm > 0.75) due to formation of a 2D dense fluid on metallic surfaces

Experimental determinations of temperature dependence of surface self-diffusion coefficient of several metals exhibit a strong increase in D_s values and in activation energy for temperatures near the melting point T_m. This variation is illustrated by a bending of the Arrhenius plot of surface self-diffusion coefficients of tungsten, which are obtained experimentally by tip profile variation technique. For T/T_m < 0.75 the apparent activation energy for W is 2.85 eV and the pre-exponential term is equal to 0.24 cm²/s, while for T/T_m > 0.75 we have respectively 5.57 eV and 1.08 × 10⁴ cm²/s. To account for these unexpected variations in the activation energy and diffusivities, the hypothesis that the surface mass transport mechanism changes from individual atomic jumps at low temperatures towards a cooperative motion at temperatures near the bulk melting point, namely a viscous mechanism, is proposed. This model is based on the postulation of the formation of a 2D dense fluid on the metallic surfaces about 75% of the bulk melting temperature. Discussions of existing models on surface diffusion proposed by Rhead, by Bonzel, or by Tsong are given, and a technique to characterize surface viscosity of a 2D dense fluid is suggested.     

Microstructural evolution of pure copper during friction-stir welding

The microstructural evolution of pure copper during friction-stir welding was found to be principally influenced by welding temperature. At temperatures below ~0.5 T_m (where T_m is melting point), the microstructure was shown to be essentially determined by continuous recrystallization, leading to significant grain refinement and related material strengthening in the stir zone. In contrast, grain structure development at temperatures above ~0.5 T_m was dominated by discontinuous recrystallization producing a relatively coarse grain structure in the stir zone and giving rise to material softening.