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Dimitrios Maroudas, Professor

Dimitrios Maroudas, Professor

 

157B Goessmann Lab
Chemical Engineering Department
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
686 N. Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003-3110
545-3617
maroudas@ecs.umass.edu

 

 

 

Education

  • Diploma, Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece, 1987
  • Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1992
  • Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, IBM T.J. Watson Research Ctr., 1992-1994

 

Selected Honors and Awards

Co-Organizer, National Academy of Engineering's 10th Annual Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering, 2004;
Invited Participant, National Academy of Engineering's 9th Annual Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering, 2003;
Invited Plenary Speaker, Workshop on Challenges for the Chemical Sciences in the 21st Century: Information & Communications, National Research Council, 2002;
Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, 1999;
R. G. Rinker AIChE Outstanding Teaching Award, UCSB, 1996;
Faculty Research Fellowship Award, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, 1996;
CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 1995;

 

Current Focus of Research

Our research interests are in the area of multi-scale modeling of complex systems with special emphasis on theoretical & computational materials science & engineering. Our research program aims at simulation of processing and function and prediction of structure, properties, and reliability of electronic and structural materials.  In addition to obtaining a fundamental understanding of the behavior of complex material systems, we are especially interested in modeling processing and function of semiconductor and metallic thin films used in the fabrication of electronic, optoelectronic, and photovoltaic devices.  All of these material systems are characterized by structural inhomogeneities, such as crystalline lattice imperfections, surfaces, interfaces, and a variety of nanostructural features.  Understanding the formation and evolution of such nano/micro-structure during physical or chemical processing and during device function is particularly important in developing processes that yield optimal material properties and guarantee device performance and reliability.

Our research efforts focus on the development and implementation of computational quantum, statistical, and continuum mechanical methods for the study of structure and dynamics and for predictions of bulk and interfacial properties of heterogeneous materials. Special emphasis is placed on establishing rigorous links between atomistic and macroscopic (continuum) length scales and between fast and slow time scales: this enables us to develop coarse descriptions of multi-scale, multi-physics phenomena in complex materials starting from an atomistic, first-principles-based description of bonding and dynamics.  Consequently, our research employs computational methods that span the spectrum from electronic structure calculation techniques to continuum numerical modeling, including: ab initio calculations of atomic structure, total energy, and atomic-scale dynamics based on density functional theory; structural relaxation, lattice-dynamics, Monte Carlo, and molecular-dynamics simulation methods based on empirical and semi-empirical descriptions of interatomic interactions; kinetic Monte Carlo and mean-field rate equation models; and continuum modeling techniques based on domain discretization such as finite-element, finite-difference, and boundary-element methods. In addition, analytical and numerical stability & bifurcation theory are implemented for understanding materials’ structural and morphological response upon variation of processing and operating parameters. Currently, we are especially interested in developing methods for overcoming time-scale limitations of atomistic dynamical simulators and enabling such simulators to perform numerical bifurcation & stability analysis.

Specific topics of current research interest include:

  • Enabling deterministic & stochastic atomic-scale simulators to perform system-level tasks, such as bifurcation & stability analysis: applications in defect dynamics, ductile fracture, and growth of thin films & nanostructures;

  • Semiconductor surface science: chemical reactivity, surface transport, and morphological evolution;

  • Plasma deposition and post-deposition treatment of semiconductor thin films;

  • Failure mechanisms of metallic thin films driven by electromigration & thermomechanical stresses and their implications for interconnect reliability in integrated circuits;

  • Mechanisms of lattice-mismatch strain relaxation in semiconductor heteroepitaxial growth;

  • Order-to-disorder (e.g., amorphization) and disorder-to-order (e.g., crystallization) transitions induced chemically or by ion beams;

  • Stress-induced mechanical instabilities, phase change, and failure in crystalline solids; and

  • Mechanical behavior of novel dielectric materials for microelectronics.

 

Selected Publications

  1. S. Sriraman, S. Agarwal, E. S. Aydil, and D. Maroudas, "Mechanism of Hydrogen-Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon," Nature 418, 62-65 (2002).

  2. J. S. Cho, M. R. Gungor, and D. Maroudas, "Electromigration-Induced Wave Propagation on Surfaces of Voids in Metallic Thin Films: Hopf Bifurcation for High Grain Symmetry," Surface Science 575, L41-L50 (2005).

  3. T. Bakos, M. S. Valipa, E. S. Aydil, and D. Maroudas, "Temperature Dependence of Precursor-Surface Interactions in Plasma Deposition of Silicon Thin Films," Chemical Physics Letters 414, 61-65 (2005).

  4. M. R. Gungor and D. Maroudas, "Relaxation of Biaxial Tensile Strain in Ultra-Thin Metallic Films: Ductile Void Growth versus Nanocrystalline Domain Formation," Applied Physics Letters 87, Article No. 171913, 3 pages (2005).

  5. M. S. Valipa, T. Bakos, E. S. Aydil, and D. Maroudas, "Surface Smoothening Mechanism of Amorphous Silicon Thin Films," Physical Review Letters 95, Article No. 216102, 4 pages (2005).

  6. K. Kolluri, L. A. Zepeda-Ruiz, C. S. Murthy, and D. Maroudas, "Kinetics of Strain Relaxation in Si1-xGex Thin Films on Si(100) Substrates: Modeling and Comparison with Experiments," Applied Physics Letters 88, Article No. 021904, 3 pages (2006).

  7. M. A. Amat, I. G. Kevrekidis, and D. Maroudas, "Coarse Molecular-Dynamics Determination of the Onset of Structural Transitions: Melting of Crystalline Solids," Physical Review B 74, Article No. 132201, 4 pages (2006).

  8. M. S. Valipa, T. Bakos, and D. Maroudas, "Surface Smoothness of Plasma-Deposited Amorphous Silicon Thin Films: Surface Diffusion of Radical Precursors and Si Incorporation Mechanism," Physical Review B 74, Article No. 205324, 15 pages (2006).

  9. H. Djohari, F. Milstein, and D. Maroudas, "Analysis of Elastic Stability and Structural Response of Face-Centered Cubic Crystals Subject to [110] Loading," Applied Physics Letters 89, Article No. 181907, 3 pages (2006).

  10. J. S. Cho, M. R. Gungor, and D. Maroudas, "Theoretical Analysis of Current-Driven Interactions Between Voids in Metallic Thin Films," Journal of Applied Physics 101, Article No. 023518, 12 pages (2007).

Full Publications List
Publication #114: "Surface Smoothening Mechanism of Amorphous Silicon Thin Films"

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