A simulation of asymmetrical voids evolution induced by electromigration

The electromigration-induced asymmetrical evolution of voids in an infinite two-dimensional space is simulated in the present paper. Following a brief review of the general problems and a summary of the fundamental governing equations, we establish a set of the non-linear ODEs with generalized coord inates to describe the evolution of a void with the initial shape bounded b y an arbitrary simple closed curve. The present numerical simulation is foc used on the features about an elliptical void and the shape asymmetry with respect to the direction of the remote electric field. Two benchmark exampl es are performed to check our program and several new numerical results are reported to enrich the knowledge on the evolution processes of voids. It i s observed that the solution for this problem is sensitive to initial shape s of voids due to its non-linear characteristics. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.