NUCLEATION AND GROWTH OF SQUARE ISLANDS DURING DEPOSITION - SIZES, COALESCENCE, SEPARATIONS AND CORRELATIONS

We analyze via simulation the irreversible nucleation, growth and coal escence of square islands during deposition and subsequent diffusion o f adatoms. Our model mimics metal-on-fcc (100) metal epitaxy (at lower temperatures). We characterize the low-coverage scaling, and the effe cts of coalescence and percolation on the island density and full size distribution. Adatom-island, island-island separations, and also the pair correlations are analyzed. Depletion of the density of nearby isl ands manifested in these quantities is shown to produce a four-fold sy mmetric ''Henzler ring'' in the diffraction profile.