GROWTH OF 3-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURES BY ATOMIC DEPOSITION ON SURFACES CONTAINING DEFECTS - SIMULATIONS AND THEORY

We perform a comprehensive study of the formation of three-dimensional (pyramidal) structures in a large range of conditions, including: the possible evaporation of adatoms from the surface and the presence of surface defects. We compare our computer simulations with theoretical calculations of the growth and find good agreement between them. This work clarifies previous studies of three-dimensional growth and predic ts the island size distributions obtained in the different regimes. Fi nally, we show how our analysis can be used to interpret experimental data. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.