An investigation was made, of the equilibrium properties of strained hetero-epitaxial systems, which incorporated formation and growth of a wetting film, dislocation-free island formation, and ripening. The phase diagram which was deduced provided a detailed characterization of the possible growth modes, in terms of island density, equilibrium island size, and wetting layer thickness. A comparison of these predictions with experimental results suggested possible growth conditions that could lead to stable islands as well as ripening.

Dislocation-Free Island Formation in Hetero-Epitaxial Growth: a Study at Equilibrium I.Daruka, A.L.Barabási: Physical Review Letters, 1997, 79[19], 3708-11