Dislocation effect on crystal-melt interface: an in situ observation of the melting of silicon

X-ray diffraction topography method was employed in order to observe in situ the melting of silicon, attention being focused on the dislocation effect on the shape of crystal-melt interface. In the case of low dislocation density, the melting took place uniformly, and the shape of crystal-melt interface was flat. In the case of high dislocation density, inhomogeneous melting was observed. Therefore, the shape of crystal-melt interface was not flat. The inhomogeneous melting must be related to the existence of large amount of dislocations induced by the thermal stress. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.