Equilibrium Shapes and Properties of Epitaxially Strained Islands
- 15 December 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 79 (24) , 4858-4861
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.79.4858
Abstract
We calculate the equilibrium morphology of an epitaxial strained layer which wets the substrate (Stranski-Krastanow growth), in a two-dimensional continuum model. The layer coalesces into a single discrete island, with zero contact angle to the film wetting the substrate. Small islands have a minimum width, and hence an arbitrarily small aspect ratio. Very large coherent islands have a shape that approaches a ball sitting atop the wetting layer.Keywords
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