Coarsening, Mixing, and Motion: The Complex Evolution of Epitaxial Islands

Yuhai Tu and J. Tersoff
Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 096103 – Published 27 February 2007

Abstract

During heteroepitaxy, misfit strain causes nanoscale islands to form spontaneously, as “self-assembled quantum dots.” The growth and evolution of these islands are remarkably complex. We show that continuum modeling reproduces and explains many of the surprising phenomena observed experimentally. The free energy is reduced by both morphological change and alloy intermixing. However, because diffusion occurs only at the surface, the morphological and compositional evolution are strongly coupled. This leads to a complex dynamical response to the rather simple thermodynamic driving forces.

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  • Received 8 November 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.096103

©2007 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Yuhai Tu and J. Tersoff

  • IBM Research Division, T. J. Watson Research Center, P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, USA

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Issue

Vol. 98, Iss. 9 — 2 March 2007

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