Rapid nucleation in pulsed laser heated amorphous Si

Abstract

Abstract Solid phase nucleation in amorphous Si is investigated at high temperature using pulsed laser heating. At − 930 °C the steady-state nucleation rate is found to be −2 × 10 18 cm −3 s −1 , which is much higher than expected on the basis of classical nucleation theory. This discrepancy is resolved by updating the theory using the current knowledge of thermodynamic properties of amorphous and microcrystalline Si. Rapid nucleation in amorphous Si which is heated to a temperature near its melting point is suggested to be the mechanism by which explosive crystallization is triggered.