Island size distributions in submonolayer growth with mobile islands and breakup

Abstract

Island growth in the submonolayer regime with mobile islands and breakup is studied by computer simulations. It is shown that during the initial stages of growth, a scaling description similar to irreversible growth applies, but eventually the growth attains a quasistationary state where aggregation is affected by breakup and a new scaling behavior occurs. A generalized scaling description that bridges the initial and final stages of growth is presented and its validity is confirmed by simulations.