Deposition rate dependence of nanopatterning on periodically strained surfaces

The deposition rate dependence of nanopattern formation on periodically strained surfaces is investigated by means of kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. This study proposes that technologically achievable strain fields (that often are less than 1%) can be used to produce periodic nanopatterns of reasonable quality for a narrow range of deposition rates. On the other hand, for large strain-field modulations good nanopatterning can be achieved for a wide range of deposition rates. We show that the optimum nanopattern quality does not only depend on surface strain field, temperature and deposition rate but also on the amount of material deposited. The best nanopatterns are obtained after the deposition of material corresponding to 30% of a full surface layer.