It was recalled that mass transport via surface electromigration markedly affected the stability and morphology of metallic surfaces. The process was treated here by using a continuum theory which took proper account of non-local coupling between the electromagnetic bulk potential and surface changes. Numerical solution of the moving boundary problem revealed a scale-dependence of the surface features and an absence of stable selected facet orientations. These aspects could not be reproduced by approximate local theories.

M.Schimschak, J.Krug: Physical Review Letters, 1997, 78[2], 278-81