On the atomistic and kinetic nature of strained epitaxy and formation of coherent 3D island quantum ☐es

Some remarkable recent results of the in situ scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) studies of InAs coherent 3D island initiation and evolution on GaAs(001) are presented in the larger context of the field of strained epitaxy. The role of nano and meso scale mesas in manipulating stress/strain is illustrated through examples of growths on in situ, purely growth control prepared stripe and square mesas with linear dimensions as small as ∼ 40 nm. A set of basic kinetic processes and their strain dependence is identified and suggested to form a good core that has the potential for providing a unified framework for understanding strained epitaxy ranging from low misfits to high misfits.