Achievement

IGERT trainee Ben Bales has been working with fellow student Andri Bezzola under the guidance of Prof. Richard Alkire (UIUC) and Prof. Linda Petzold to develop fast algorithms for simulation of electrodeposition processes. These processes are used at an industrial scale in fabrication of metals, alloys, semiconductors, and dielectrics. The project has sought to model and understand the dynamics of electrodeposition using Kinetic Monte-Carlo techniques.

This year, Ben has been extending the first passage time algorithm from prototype models to realistic engineering systems. The group has been communicating with a number of leading experimentalists to validate the algorithm and use it to both improve fundamental understanding and refine fabrication processes. This has resulted in substantial improvement and extension of the initial algorithm, including extension of the algorithm to hexagonal close-packed structures and incorporation of fast methods for edge diffusion.