Strain E?ect on the Instability of Island Formation in Submonolayer Heteroepitaxy...

Strain e�ect on the instability of island formation in submonolayer heteroepitaxy is studied in
both thermodynamic and kinetic regimes. By using linear stability analysis, the energy change of
an island due to small perturbations is analyzed. A phase diagram is constructed to illustrate the
interplay between kinetic processes and strain e�ect on the shape instability. Critical island sizes
beyond which islands grow unstable are also derived for various growth conditions and can be used
to estimate energy parameters. The scaling forms of shape instability are also discussed.