Kinetics of liquid-mediated crystallization of amorphous Ge from multi-frame dynamic transmission electron microscopy

Santala, M. K.; Raoux, S.; Campbell, G. H.

doi:10.1063/1.4938751

Kinetics of liquid-mediated crystallization of amorphous Ge from multi-frame dynamic transmission electron microscopy

Journal Article · Wed Dec 23 23:00:00 EST 2015 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4938751· OSTI ID:1239268

Santala, M. K. ^[1]; Raoux, S. ^[2]; Campbell, G. H. ^[3]

Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Oregon State University Libraries & Press
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fur Materialien und Energie GmbH, Berlin (Germany)
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

The kinetics of laser-induced, liquid-mediated crystallization of amorphous Ge thin films were studied using multi-frame dynamic transmission electron microscopy (DTEM), a nanosecond-scale photo-emission transmission electron microscopy technique. In these experiments, high temperature gradients are established in thin amorphous Ge films with a 12-ns laser pulse with a Gaussian spatial profile. The hottest region at the center of the laser spot crystallizes in ~100 ns and becomes nano-crystalline. Over the next several hundred nanoseconds crystallization continues radially outward from the nano-crystalline region forming elongated grains, some many microns long. The growth rate during the formation of these radial grains is measured with time-resolved imaging experiments. Crystal growth rates exceed 10 m/s, which are consistent with crystallization mediated by a very thin, undercooled transient liquid layer, rather than a purely solid-state transformation mechanism. The kinetics of this growth mode have been studied in detail under steady-state conditions, but here we provide a detailed study of liquid-mediated growth in high temperature gradients. Unexpectedly, the propagation rate of the crystallization front was observed to remain constant during this growth mode even when passing through large local temperature gradients, in stark contrast to other similar studies that suggested the growth rate changed dramatically. As a result, the high throughput of multi-frame DTEM provides gives a more complete picture of the role of temperature and temperature gradient on laser crystallization than previous DTEM experiments.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1239268

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1233952
OSTI ID: 22486272
OSTI ID: 1247277

Journal Information:: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 25 Vol. 107; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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High-Speed Electron Microscopy Campbell, Geoffrey H.; McKeown, Joseph T.; Santala, Melissa K. Springer Handbook of Microscopy https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00069-1_8	book	January 2019
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Kinetics of liquid-mediated crystallization of amorphous Ge from multi-frame dynamic transmission electron microscopy

Journal Article · Sun Dec 20 23:00:00 EST 2015 · Applied Physics Letters · OSTI ID:22486272

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
amorphous semiconductors
crystal growth
germanium
liquid crystals
transmission electron microscopy

Kinetics of liquid-mediated crystallization of amorphous Ge from multi-frame dynamic transmission electron microscopy

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