Phase separation driven by surface diffusion: a Monte Carlo study

Abstract

We propose a kinetic Ising model to study phase separation driven by surface diffusion. This model is referred to as Model S, and consists of the usual Kawasaki spin-exchange kinetics (Model B) in conjunction with a kinetic constraint. We use multispin coding techniques to develop fast algorithms for Monte Carlo simulations of Models B and S. We use these algorithms to study the late stages of pattern dynamics in these systems, and compare properties of the evolution morphologies, e.g., growth laws, domain distribution functions, and spatial and temporal correlation functions.