Phase Field Crystal Modeling

in Material Science

Ken Elder

Department of Physics, Oakland University

The vast majority of naturally occurring or man-made solids are not in equilibrium and contain complex spatial structures on nanometer, micron or millimeter length scales. This is particularly important since these morphologies often determine the mechanical, electrical and optical properties of the material. In this talk I would like to discuss a continuum field theory approach to modeling the formation of these structures. This approach bridges the gap between conventional atomic models and continuum elasticity theory. For illustrative purposes a number of applications will be considered including liquid phase epitaxial growth, spinodal decomposition, eutectic solidification, dendritic growth and material hardness.