The initial stages of homo-epitaxy on (001) were studied by using atomic-resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy, and Monte Carlo simulations that included the zincblende structure, the (2 x 4) reconstruction of the (001) surface, and the kinetics of As2 incorporation. The reconstruction was found to favor nucleation on the top-layer As dimers, and to cause small islands to be unstable until they adopted the local (2 x 4) structure.

Island nucleation and growth on reconstructed GaAs(001) surfaces M.Itoh, G.R.Bell, A.R.Avery, T.S.Jones, B.A.Joyce, D.D.Vvedensky: Physical Review Letters, 1998, 81[3], 633-6