INTERFACIAL PATTERN-FORMATION FAR FROM EQUILIBRIUM

Diffusion-controlled systems have been shown to share a common set of interfacial morphologies. We focus on the properties of the dense-branching morphology (DBM) which appears for sufficiently weak effective anisotropy, and the nature of morphology transitions between the DBM and dendritic growth stabilized by either surface tension or kinetic effects. The DBM is studied in the Hele-Shaw cell, and its structure analyzed by linear stability analysis. A comparison is made between the power spectrum of the structure and the stability analysis. We then provide a detailed account of the morphology diagram and morphology transitions in an anisotropic Hele-Shaw cell. Theoretically the question of morphology transitions is addressed within the boundary-layer model. A comparison is made with experimental results in electrochemical deposition for the correspondence between growth velocities and morphology transitions.