SPONTANEOUS FORMATION OF ARRAYS OF 3-DIMENSIONAL ISLANDS IN EPITAXIALLAYERS

An analysis is made of a theoretical model of the formation of three-d imensional nanometer-size islands in molecular beam epitaxy. The kinet ics of the self-organization processes are described using a lattice g as model of the adsorbate with self-consistent allowance for lateral i nteractions in the activation energies of the diffusion processes. It is shown that at below-critical temperatures in a certain range of thi cknesses, decay of the spatially uniform state gives rise to arrays of three-dimensional nano-islands which do not participate in the coales cence process after growth has ceased. The average size of the islands , their geometric profile, and the spatial ordering depend strongly on the kinetic parameters of the model. (C) 1998 American Institute of P hysics.