Diffusion dynamics during the nucleation and growth of Ge/Si nanostructures on Si(111)

We report a low energy electron microscopy study of the relation between self-organized Ge/Si(111) nanostructures and their local environment. By comparison with Monte Carlo simulations, three-dimensional islands are shown to display a substantial tendency towards self-ordering. This tendency may result from the diffusive nature of the nucleation processes. The size of individual nanostructures does not significantly correlate with the distance between neighboring islands. Thus energetic factors are thought to govern the competition among coexisting nanostructures to capture the deposited mass.