  We propose deposition noise to be an important factor in unstable epitaxial
growth of thin films. Our analysis yields a geometrical relation H=(RWL)^2
between the typical mound height W, mound size L, and the film thickness H.
Simulations of realistic systems show that the parameter R is a characteristic
of the growth conditions, and generally lies in the range 0.2-0.7. The
constancy of R in late-stage coarsening yields a scaling relation between the
coarsening exponent 1/z and the mound height exponent \beta which, in the case
of saturated mound slope, gives \beta = 1/z = 1/4.
