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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 82 » Issue 20
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4042–4045 (1999)

Formation and Stability of Self-Assembled Coherent Islands in Highly Mismatched Heteroepitaxy

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L. G. Wang, P. Kratzer, M. Scheffler, and N. Moll*
Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, D-14195 Berlin-Dahlem, Germany

Received 21 December 1998; published in the issue dated 17 May 1999

We study the energetics of island formation in Stranski-Krastanow growth within a parameter-free approach. It is shown that an optimum island size exists for a given coverage and island density if changes in the wetting layer morphology after the 3D transition are properly taken into account. Our approach reproduces well the experimental island size dependence on coverage and indicates that the critical layer thickness depends on growth conditions. The present study provides a new explanation for the (frequently found) rather narrow size distribution of self-assembled coherent islands.

© 1999 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.4042
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.4042
PACS:
68.65.+g, 68.55.-a, 81.10.Aj

*Present address: Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139

 
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