Ge islands were deposited on Si(001) partially covered with patterned oxide. Selective Si was deposited on some wafers before Ge deposition to form raised Si(001) plateaus with well-defined sidewall facets. On narrow lines, the Ge islands locate preferentially at the edges of the raised Si(001) regions, and the preference is strongest on the narrowest patterns aligned along a ⟨100⟩ direction. For a 450 nm wide plateau aligned in this direction, all the islands are positioned along the edges of the pattern, with a 300 nm space near the center of the pattern free of Ge islands. The islands appear to be uniformly spaced along the pattern edges. On wider lines, several rows of islands are aligned near the edges of the pattern, with the order decreasing farther from the edge. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.