The melting of amorphous Si.

The prediction by Turnbull and his colleagues that amorphous Si and Ge undergo first order melting transitions at temperatures T(al) substantially beneath the crystalline melting temperature T(cl) has stimulated much work. Structural, calorimetric and transient conductance measurements show that, for Si, T(cl) - T(al) lies in the range 225-250C. Studies of the pulsed laser melting of the Si amorphous-liquid transition have resulted in the following findings; an estimate of the undercooling rate of 15K/m/sec, an understanding of the mechanism mediating explosive crystallization, the formation of internal melts and segregation of dopants at the liquid-amorphous interface.