Langevin equation for self-organized morphologies of thin heteroepitaxial films

The self-organization of nanostructures on strained epitaxial films is expressed as a Langevin equation obtained from an atomistic model of the growth kinetics. The transition rules are based on the incorporation of strain effects into environment-dependent detachment barriers. Comparisons are made with a previous approach based on continuum elasticity to provide an atomistic interpretation of the governing equation for the morphological evolution of strained films.