Direct simulation Monte Carlo study of the formation and growth of clusters in the case of vapor expansion from a suddenly switched spherical source

The processes of formation of silicon clusters in the case of vapor expansion from a suddenly switched spherical source into an ambient inert gas are considered. Vapor expansion and condensation are described by the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. A model of clusterization is proposed, which describes reactions leading to the growth and decomposition of clusters and corresponding energytransfer processes. The main features of cluster formation in the case of vapor expansion into a gas are considered. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 101–109, January–February, 2009.