Crystal growth kinetics in undercooled melts of pure Ge, Si and Ge–Si alloys

We report on measurements of crystal growth dynamics in semiconducting pure Ge and pure Si melts and in Ge100−xSiₓ (x = 25, 50, 75) alloy melts as a function of undercooling. Electromagnetic levitation techniques are applied to undercool the samples in a containerless way. The growth velocity is measured by the utilization of a high-speed camera technique over an extended range of undercooling. Solidified samples are examined with respect to their microstructure by scanning electron microscopic investigations. We analyse the experimental results of crystal growth kinetics as a function of undercooling within the sharp interface theory developed by Peter Galenko. Transitions of the atomic attachment kinetics are found at large undercoolings, from faceted growth to dendrite growth. This article is part of the theme issue ‘From atomistic interfaces to dendritic patterns’.