Molecular simulations of solid-liquid interfacial tension of silicon

Authors

Yuk Wai Tang, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jun Wang, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Xiao Cheng Zeng, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

6-1-2006

Comments

Published by American Institute of Physics. J. Chem. Physics 124, 236103 2006. ©2006 American Institute of Physics. Permission to use. http://jcp.aip.org/.

Abstract

Silicon is an important semiconductor for manufacturing of microelectronic chips used in computers and other electronic devices. During the manufacturing process, liquid silicon is being solidified to make high-grade solid semiconductors. Thus, improved data of the solid-liquid interfacial properties of silicon will be useful towards optimizing the experiment condition for making better quality electronics. Yet it is difficult to perform experiments of liquid silicon due to its high melting point. Thus far, most experimental measurements of the solid-liquid interfacial tension are based on the measurement of rate of homogeneous crystal nucleation at a given undercooling. The first measurement of solidliquid interfacial tension of silicon was performed by Stiffler et al. Following pulsed-laser melting thin films of silicon, a deep undercooling of 505 K was achieved. The measured rate of nucleation is about 10²⁹ events/ s m³, which yields a solid-liquid interfacial tension γ_s1=0.34±0.02 J /m². The estimation of surface tension is based on the assumptions that the critical nucleus is spherical and the nucleation is homogeneous.