Self-assembled island formation in heteroepitaxial growth

Abstract

We investigate island formation during heteroepitaxial growth using an atomistic model that incorporates deposition, activated diffusion and stress relaxation. For high misfit the system naturally evolves into a state characterized by a narrow island size distribution. The simulations indicate the existence of a strain assisted kinetic mechanism responsible for the self-assembling process, involving enhanced detachment of atoms from the edge of large islands and biased adatom diffusion.