Abstract
Historically, metallography has been the two-dimensional characterization of materials microstructures by optical microscopy. Consequential problems have long been known: A two-dimensional section through a three-dimensional object gives us only a very poor idea about size and form of the object. Therefore, many attempts have been made to gain three-dimensional information experimentally. Nevertheless, in simulations and also analytical theories thin films are commonly still treated as two-dimensional objects making comparisons with 3D experimental data rather hard. In the present paper, grain growth in thin films is investigated for the first time by three-dimensional Potts model simulations focusing particularly on the transition from bulk-like growth to columnar microstructures.
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