Wetting layer evolution upon quantum dots self-assembly

A quantitatively thermodynamic model has been established to address the problem of the wetting layer evolution upon the quantum dots (QDs) self-assembly based on the embedded islands. It was found that the mismatch induced by the embedded islands breaks the balance of the strain energies between the islands and the wetting layer, and then results in the island’s volume increasing and the wetting layer’s thickness decreasing for creating a thermodynamic equilibrium upon the QD self-assembly. The stable thickness of the wetting layer can be determined by balancing the strain energies between the islands and the wetting layer. The theoretical results are in agreement with the experiments.