Comparative Study of Interatomic Interaction Potentials for Describing Indentation into Si Using Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Abstract

We compare the performance of three interatomic interaction potentials for describing the evolution of plasticity and phase transformations in Si: the well established Stillinger-Weber potential, a recent modification used in the description of Al/Si composites, and a modification of the well known Tersoff potential. We show that the generation of dislocations and the evolution of plasticity are well described by the Stillinger-Weber potential and its modification, while the phase transformation to the high-pressure bct5 modification and the subsequent amorphization are better included in the modified Tersoff potential.