title: Role of strain-dependent surface energies in Ge/Si(100) island formation.
abstract: Formation energies for Ge/Si(100) pyramidal islands are computed combining continuum calculations of strain energy with first-principles-computed strain-dependent surface energies. The strain dependence of surface energy is critically impacted by the presence of strain-induced changes in the Ge {100} surface reconstruction. The appreciable strain dependencies of rebonded-step {105} and dimer-vacancy-line-reconstructed {100} surface energies are estimated to give rise to a significant reduction in the surface contribution to island formation energies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Science and Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
authors.forename: O E
authors.initials: OE
authors.lastname: Shklyaev
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asta
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Miksis
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Voorhees