The Solid-Liquid Interface (Cambridge Solid State Science Series)

The nature of the solid-liquid interface, the mechanism associated with its movement, and its preferential morphologies, impose important boundary conditions on the technology of crystal growth from the melt. This 1973 book sets out to describe these basic physical changes which underlie all of the important range of melt growth techniques irrespective of the special problems of individual materials and particular experimental techniques. It will be of particular value to senior undergraduates and graduate students of the science of materials. Dr Woodruff begins by considering Gibbs's 1878 work on the basic thermodynamics of an interface, and moves on to examine experimental aspects of the solid-liquid interfacial free energy. The theory of the morphological stability of the interface is also studied, along with the kinetics of crystal growth, and there is a useful chapter on eutectic growth. Throughout, the macroscopic properties of the materials under discussion are linked to relevant theory. Cover Contents Preface 1 Interfacial free energy and the γ-plot 1.1 The free energy of an interface 1.2 Surface tension and its relation to surface free energy 1.3 The γ-plot and the ‘terrace-ledge-kink’ model of a surface 1.4 Pairwise bonding models 1.5 Effect of temperature on the γ-plot 1.6 Equilibrium shape of a surface General reading 2 The experimental determination of the solid-liquid interfacial free energy ySL 2.1 Methods of interface intersections 2.2 Interface intersections methods for yaL 2.3 Homogeneous nucleation in the liquid-solid transition 2.4 Heterogeneous nucleation in the liquid-solid transition 2.5 Nucleation in the solid-liquid transition 2.6 Other methods for determining γSL 2.7 Experimental determinations of the shape of the γ-plot for γSL Further reading 3 The structure of the solid-liquid interface 3.1 Singular and non-singular interfaces 3.2 Jackson’s (1958) theory of the interface structure 3.3 Comparison of Jackson’s predictions with experiment 3.4 Jackson’s theory in perspective 3.5 Temkin’s n-layer model of the interface 3.6 Interface morphologies during melting 3.7 The structure of the interface in alloy systems Further reading 4 Non-structural views of the solid-liquid interface 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Theories of melting 4.3 The thickness of the solid-liquid interface 4.4 Theoretical calculations of γSL Further reading 5 Morphological stability 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Steady>state growth conditions for a binary alloy 5.3 Constitutional supercooling 5.4 Mullins and Sekerka’s analysis of planar interface stability 5.5 The influence of interface kinetics on stability 5.6 Time evolution of instabilities 5.7 Experimental studies on constitutional supercooling 5.8 The stability of a melting interface Further reading 6 Dendritic growth 6.1 The origins and occurrence of dendritic growth 6.2 The stability of a growing spherical nucleus 6.3 The stability of a growing rod 6.4 A steady-state description of a dendrite cap 6.5 Dendritic branching 6.6 Cast structures and dendrites Further reading 7 Eutectic growth 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Lamellar eutectics 7.3 Rod growth and the lamellar-rod transition 7.4 Eutectic range 7.5 Other structures Further reading 8 Mechanisms and kinetics of crystal growth 8.1 Introduction: two-dimensional nucleation 8.2 Screw dislocation growth mechanisms 8.3 ‘Continuous’ or ‘normal’ growth 8.4 A unifying theory 8.5 Experiments on growth kinetics 8.6 Mechanisms and kinetics of melting The nature of the solid-liquid interface, the mechanism associated with its movement, and its preferential morphologies, impose important boundary conditions on the technology of crystal growth from the melt. This 1973 book aims to describe these basic physical changes which underlie all of the important range of melt growth techniques.