Crystal growth: A comparison of Monte Carlo simulation nucleation and normal growth theories

Abstract
We simulated the growth of a (001) Kossel crystal surface on a special‐purpose computer. Different nearest‐neighbor bond energies in the two lateral directions of our solid‐on‐solid model were possible (anisotropy). The values which we obtained for the growth rate are much more accurate than previous results on a general‐purpose computer. The supersaturation dependence of the growth rate was compared with predictions of mean field and nucleation theories and it was shown that the latter, if properly adjusted, apply even for relatively rough surfaces. The anisotropy dependence of the growth rate was used to determine the transition from step growth to continuous growth.