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The processes of nucleation and growth of GaN, Ge, and InAs nanoclusters in molecular beam epitaxy (conventional and nitrogen-ion-assisted) have been investigated by computer simulation methods. Physical models are proposed to explain the regularities of nanostructure evolution, depending on the epitaxy conditions. The role of nitrogen-ion irradiation, leading to radical changes in the epitaxial growth regime, is revealed.

The growth of silicon carbide (SiC) nanoclusters by molecular beam epitaxy on silicon substrates has been studied using a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. The first results concerning the initial stages of this growth are presented.

The influence of an additional bombardment with low-energy ions during conventional molecular beam epitaxy deposition is studied. A model is proposed describing the initial growth stages during conventional molecular beam epitaxy and ion-beam assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The additional bombardment with low-energy ions leads to a transformation of the growth mode from island growth to layer-by-layer growth. In the first stages of film growth, the hyperthermal ion bombardment causes an increasing detachment of atoms from the tops of the growing islands. Based on the model, using simulation by the kinetic-equation method, the size distribution function of growing clusters is calculated. The theoretical results are in good agreement with experimental results obtained upon the deposition of GaN films.