Quasi-hexagonal self-organization of nanoparticles upon the laser-controlled deposition of Ga atoms

A cooperative defect-deformation (DD) mechanism is developed for the nucleation of the quasi-monodisperse ensemble of nanoparticles in the low-temperature deposition of Ga atoms in the presence of laser radiation. A comparison with experiment is carried out, and a good agreement between the theoretical and experimental results has been obtained. In particular, in accordance with the DD model, it has been found that the arrangement of nanoparticles is characterized by a latent hexagonal order, and their shape is quasi-hexagonal. It has been shown that the characteristics of the deposited ensemble of nanoparticles can be controlled with the use of an anisotropic deformation.