The control of positioning of self-assembled dots is critical for the fabri
cation of regimented arrays in signal processing applications. We report th
e controllable positioning of self-assembled Ge dots using selectively grow
n Si mesas as a template. The dependence of the dot arrangement on growth t
emperature and Ge thickness has been investigated. The experimental results
show ability to control the positioning of Ge dots based on energetically
preferential nucleation. The Ge dot growth on Si mesas is demonstrated to b
e a promising way to realize the placement of regimented arrays of self-ass
embled dots and even a single dot. This technique can be extended to other
heterostructure growths. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-695
1(00)04124-3].