An Energy-Stable Parametric Finite Element Method for Simulating Solid-state Dewetting Problems in Three Dimensions

Abstract: We propose an accurate and energy-stable parametric finite element method for solving the sharp-interface continuum model of solid-state dewetting in three-dimensional space. The model describes the motion of the film\slash vapor interface with contact line migration and is governed by the surface diffusion equation with proper boundary conditions at the contact line. We present a new weak formulation for the problem, in which the interface and its contact line are evolved simultaneously. By using piecewise linear elements in space and backward Euler in time, we then discretize the weak formulation to obtain a fully discretized parametric finite element approximation. The resulting numerical method is shown to be well-posed and unconditionally energy-stable. Furthermore, the numerical method is extended for solving the sharp interface model of solid-state dewetting with anisotropic surface energies in the Riemmanian metric form. Numerical results are reported to show the convergence and efficiency of the proposed numerical method as well as the anisotropic effects on the morphological evolution of thin films in solid-state dewetting.