Front Tracking Simulations of Ion Deposition and Resputtering (Q4253095)

This paper describes a surface evolution formulated in the terms of a Hamilton-Jacobi equation and extends the front tracking algorithm to three dimensions, for the solutions of ion etching and deposition problems. The front tracked in etching and deposition processes is the interface between the solid material and the ambient gas or vacuum. A mathematical description of the evolution process is obtained when the evolving interface at time \(t\) is represented as the level set of a function \(\Phi(X,t)= 0\). The interface evolution is described in the form of a Hamilton-Jacobi equation \[ \Phi_t(X, t)+ H(X,\Phi,\nabla\Phi(X))= 0, \] \[ H(X,\Phi, \nabla\Phi(X))= C\Biggl(X, \Phi, {\nabla\Phi(X)\over |\nabla\Phi(X)|}\Biggr)|\nabla\Phi(X)|. \] The front tracking method gives physically admissible solutions with sharply defined cusps and corners, even with relatively coarse grids. The algorithm uses, within its propagation step, Riemann solvers based on proven admissibility criteria.