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Self-assembled island formation in heteroepitaxial growth

Albert-László Barabási
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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.

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Albert-László Barabási. 1997-03-31. Self-assembled island formation in heteroepitaxial growth. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.118920

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