Nitrogen reaction with silicon: Investigation of Si undercooling and Si3N4 growth

Mickael Beaudhuin (1, 2) , Kader Zaidat (1) , Thierry Duffar (1) , Msutapha Lemiti (3)

1 SIMaP - Science et Ingénierie des Matériaux et Procédés
2 ICGM ICMMM - Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier - Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux de Montpellier
3 INL - PV - INL - Photovoltaïque

The interaction of nitrogen with liquid and solid silicon at high temperature is investigated in an electromagnetic levitation set-up. It is shown that the nucleation undercooling of Si decreases monotonically from 300 to 1 K when the concentration of nitrogen in the solidified droplet increases from 0 to 600 ppmw. Several a- and b-Si3N4morphologies are observed and their growth conditions are linked to the various stages of the Si droplet cooling down. It follows that electromagnetic levitation is a valuable tool for investigation of the chemical behavior of highly reactive liquids at high temperature.

Mots clés: Semiconducting Silicon; Nucleation; Solidfication; Growth from melt; Nitride

Domaines: Cristallographie; Matériaux

Mickael Beaudhuin, Kader Zaidat, Thierry Duffar, Msutapha Lemiti. Nitrogen reaction with silicon: Investigation of Si undercooling and Si3N4 growth. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2011, 336 (1), pp.77-81. ⟨10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2011.09.036⟩. ⟨hal-00657958⟩