Dendritic growth in Si1−xGex melts

We investigated the types of dendrites grown in Si1−_xGe_x (0 < x < 1) melts, and also investigated the initiation of dendrite growth during unidirectional growth of Si1-_xGe_x alloys. Si1−xGex (0 < x < 1) is a semiconductor alloy with a completely miscible-type binary phase diagram. Therefore, Si1−xGex alloys are promising for use as epitaxial substrates for electronic devices owing to the fact that their band gap and lattice constant can be tuned by selecting the proper composition, and also for thermoelectric applications at elevated temperatures. On the other hand, regarding the fundamentals of solidification, some phenomena during the solidification process have not been clarified completely. Dendrite growth is a well-known phenomenon, which appears during the solidification processes of various materials. However, the details of dendrite growth in Si1−_xGe_x (0 < x < 1) melts have not yet been reported. We attempted to observe dendritic growth in Si1−_xGe_x (0 < x < 1) melts over a wide range of composition by an in situ observation technique. It was found that twin-related dendrites appear in Si1−xGex (0 < x < 1) melts. It was also found that faceted dendrites can be grown in directional solidification before instability of the crystal/melt interface occurs, when a growing crystal contains parallel twin boundaries.