Morphologies, metastability and coarsening of quantum nanoislands on the surfaces of the annealed Ag(110) and Pb(111) thin films

Morphological evolution of heteroepitaxial nanoislands toward equilibrium (coarsening) is computed using the detailed continuum model that incorporates the quantum size effect. Results reveal the metastability of the "magic" heights, show the morphological transitions and the surface diffusion routes by which a quantum island reaches its stable height, and provide the coarsening laws for the island density and area, thus clarifying the kinetic morphology pathways in the growth of an ultrathin metal films.