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Modeling of Undercooling, Nucleation, and Multiple Phase FrontFormation in Pulsed-Laser-Melted Amorphous Silicon*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

R. F. Wood ,
G. A. Geist ,
A. D. Solomon ,
D. H. Lowndes  and
G. E. Jellison Jr.
R. F. Wood
Affiliation:
Solid State Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P. O. Box X, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
G. A. Geist
Affiliation:
Engineering Physics and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P. O. Box X, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
A. D. Solomon
Affiliation:
Engineering Physics and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P. O. Box X, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
D. H. Lowndes
Affiliation:
Solid State Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P. O. Box X, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
G. E. Jellison Jr.
Affiliation:
Solid State Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P. O. Box X, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
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Abstract

Recently available experimental data indicate that the solidification ofundercooled molten silicon prepared by pulsed laser melting of amorphoussilicon is a complex process. Time-resolved reflectivity and electricalconductivity measurements provide information about near-surface melting andsuggest the presence of buried molten layers. Transmission electronmicrographs show the formation of both fine- and large-grainedpolycrystalline regions if the melt front does not penetrate through theamorphous layer. We have carried out extensive calculations using a newlydeveloped computer program based on an enthalpy formulation of the heatconduction problem. The program provides the framework for a consistenttreatment of the simultaneous formation of multiple states and phase-frontpropagation by allowing material in each finite-difference cell to melt,undercool, nucleate, and solidify under prescribed conditions. Calculationsindicate possibilities for a wide variety of solidification behavior. Thenew model and selected results of calculations are discussed here andcomparisons with recent experimental data are made.

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Footnotes

*

Research sponsored by the Division of Materials Sciences, U.S.Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-840R21400 with MartinMarietta Energy Systems, Inc.

References

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