CELLULAR AUTOMATA SIMULATION OF THIN FILM DIAMOND DEPOSITION PROCESS

ASAT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS EMPHASIZE LIGHT-WEIGHT NUCLEAR-HARD AND HIGH-POWER HARDWARE AND COMPONENTS. DIAMOND TECHNOLOGY BOTH AS SINGLE-CRYSTAL BULK MATERIAL AND PLYCRYSTALLINE THIN FILMS HAVE MANY POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS FOR ASAT OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A THEORETICAL MODEL OF DIAMOND FILM DEPOSITION SO THAT THERE WILL BE A SIMULATION GUIDE FOR EXPERIMENTAL WORK. IN ADDITION, THE SIMULATIONS WILL BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN PROPOSED CHEMICAL MECHANISMS, AND TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF POSSIBLE MODIFICATIONS TO THE SURFACE, SUCH AS THE INTRODUCTION OF SURFACE CHARGE. THE FIRST MODEL TO BE EXAMINED DURING PHASE I OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS THE CELLULAR AUTOMATA (CA) MODEL. THIS MODEL USES DISCRETE SPACE AND TIME INTERVALS. RULES FOR LOCAL INTERACTIONS ARE SELECTED AND AN INITIAL CONFIGURATION (SUCH AS A SINGLE SEED) IS USED AS A STARTING CONFIGURATION. COMPUTER SIMULATION PROCEEDS THEREAFTER AND THE RESULTING CONFIGURATIONS ARE OBSERVED. THE SECOND MODEL TO BE INVESTIGATED IN PHASE II OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS THE PERCOLATION MODEL. IN PHASE II OF THE PROPOSED EFFORT, WE WILL ATTEMPT TO ASSOCIATE PARAMETERS OF THE DEPOSITION PROCESS WITH PARAMETERS OF THE PERCOLATION. IN ADDITION IN PHASE II WE WILL MODEL MORE DETAILED FEATURES OF THE FILM DEPOSITION PROCESS USING CELLULAR AUTOMATA.