1. Context

In the general context of micro- and nano-technologies, simulation and the tools at their disposal can play a role at many different levels. In this article, we focus on atomic-scale simulation of manufacturing processes, their development and predictive simulation, with the understanding that this can also be applied to electronic properties. Our focus here is exclusively on the atomic layer deposition (ALD) process.

Beyond the quality of the layers in volume, optimizing the properties of ultrathin films essentially lies in the quality of their interfaces. It is therefore on these few monolayers of deposited substrate/layer transition that many questions and obstacles lie. Fine characterization of these interfaces - their chemical composition, structure, nature and impact of defects - is fraught with difficulties, linked for example to the defective and often amorphous...