Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Bubble Formation in Confined Water in Si/SiO₂ Nanochannels

We used molecular dynamics simulations to study bubble formation in confined water in Si and SiO 2 nanochannels. Our simulations showed that surface wettability plays a major role in determining the mechanism type of bubble formation in confined geometry of nanofeatures. Hydrophobic Si surfaces and hydrophilic SiO 2 surfaces led to heterogenous and homogenous bubble formation, respectively. Such observations can help in understanding cavitation effects during etching/cleaning processes of features at nano-scale dimensions.