SINTERING OF MULTILAYERED CERAMIC FILMS: LARGE-SCALE MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS ON PARALLEL COMPUTERS

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA

Investigators

Abstract

EEC-0086508 Vashishta The goal of this project is to understand atomistic processes involved in the constrained sintering of multilayered ceramic films and the mechanical properties of the sintered systems using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. Research will focus on 1) ceramic/ceramic interfaces involving, Si3N4, SiC, and Al2O3 with amorphous SiO2 interlayers; and 2) sintering in laminated multilayer films consisting of nanoparticles of these ceramics with glassy coating. The objectives are to investigate: structure, stresses, friction, and debonding at interfaces; effects of thermal-expansion mismatch/anisotropy, nanoparticle size, and interfacial glassy layers on sintering; residual stress distribution; and delamination. Algorithms will be designed to carry out multiscale simulations combining the coarse-grained MD and the finite element methods in a metacomputing environment with multiple parallel machines, mass storage devices, and immersive and interactive virtual environments on a Grid with high speed networks. The proposed research will have significant impact on new multilayer ceramic integrated circuit technologies in the electronic industry.