Colloidal monolayer self-assembly and its simulation via cellular automaton model

A wafer-scale colloidal monolayer consisting of SiO2 spheres is fabricated by a method combining spin coating and thermal treatment for the first time. Moreover, a new cellular automaton model describing the self-assembly process of the colloidal monolayer is introduced. Rather than simulate molecular self-assembly to establish the most energetically favored position, we reconstruct the self-assembly of the colloidal monolayer by adjusting several simple transition rules of a cellular automaton. This model captures the main self-assembly characteristics of SiO2 spheres, including experimental processing time, morphology, and some statistics. It possesses the advantage of less calculation and higher efficiency, paving a new way to simulate a mesoscopic system.