Formation of island arrays by melting of Bi, Pb and Sn continuous films on Si substrate

We investigate the properties of island arrays formed under melting of Sn, Pb and Bi solid films deposited on Si substrates using scanning electron microscopy. The possibility of the formation of island arrays consisting of particles of almost the same size by self-organization on the melting of solid Sn, Pb and Bi films on an inert substrate is shown. The dependencies on the film mass thickness of the most probable size of the islands, the distances between them, their density and coverage are determined experimentally. We have shown that the formation of island nanostructures on the substrate by film melting is driven by the reduction of the film-substrate surface energy.