Stochastic Approach to the Study of Atomistic Processes in the Early Stages of Thin-Film Growth. 2. Island Formation

摘要

We draw upon the theoretical methods developed in the preceding contribution to explore different mechanisms of island growth in the initial stages of the development of a thin film. In particular, we study the entropic consequences of assuming different sequences for generating a final nucleation pattern or island morphology on a finite, planar array. Our calculations lead to the conclusion that the most entropically favorable process for island growth is one in which the morphology is generated by a "row-filling" mechanism on a lattice with triangular geometry.