The effects of grain grooves on grain boundary migration in nanofilms

Abstract Using numerical computations and asymptotic analysis, we study the effects of grain grooves on grain boundary migration in nanofilms, focusing for simplicity on axisymmetric bicrystals containing an embedded cylindrical grain located at the origin. We find there is a critical initial grain radius, R ∗ , such that if R R ∗ , the grain at the origin shrinks and annihilates, and if R > R ∗ , groove growth during grain shrinkage leads to film break-up. The central cross-section of the grain boundary profile is seen to be parabolic, and an ordinary differential equation which depends on the tilt angle and the groove depth is seen to govern the location of the groove root. Near the annihilation–pinch-off transition, temporary stagnation occurs; thereafter, the shrinking grain accelerates rapidly, then disappears.