MULTIPLE CLUSTER GROWTH OF ULTRA-THIN FILMS WITH ANISOTROPIC EDGE DIFFUSION

The multiple cluster growth of ultra-thin films on a hexagonal substrate with fractal, dendritic and compact morphology has been studied by computer simulation. The influence of the different diffusion processes along island edges on the island shape has been investigated. The results show that the anisotropic corner diffusion induces the dendritic growth, and the anisotropic step diffusion can promote the anisotropic growth and cause the ramified islands growing in three directions. In the case of compact growth, the island shape is mainly determined by the anisotropic corner crossing process. The nonuniform distribution of the multiple cluster formation can be described quantitatively by multifractal. With patterns changing from fractal to compact islands, the width and height of the bell-like or hook-like multifractal spectra increase, while the top f(\alpha) decreases.