Ordering of strained islands during surface growth

We study the morphological evolution of strained islands in growing crystal films by use of a continuum description including wetting, elasticity, and deposition. We report different nonlinear regimes following the elastic instability and tuned by the flux. Increasing the flux, we first find an annealinglike dynamics, then a slower but nonconventional ripening followed by a steady regime, while the island density continuously increases. The islands develop spatial correlations and ordering with a narrow two-peaked distance distribution and ridgelike clusters of islands at high flux.