Single Crystal Solidification

• Why do we want single crystals?

– No grain boundaries leads to improved
mechanical properties.
• Reduces susceptibility to creep and cracking along
grain boundaries.
• Directional Solidification – e.g. Ni super-
alloy turbine blades
– 1960 – columnar crystals (Fig. 5.33)
– 1967 – single crystal (Fig. 5.33)
 Single Crystal Solidification
• Floating Zone Method (Fig. 5.34)
– Goal → to grow single crystals or refine
polycrystalline metals (zone refining)
– To grow single crystal:
• Start with polycrystalline rod resting on single
crystal seed
• Induction coil is passed along the length of rod
• Single crystal seed grows maintaining orientation
 Single Crystal Solidification
• Floating Zone Method (cont.)
– Refining polycrystalline metal
• Impurities are swept to one end of rod
– Can use multiple passes or create multiple zones
– Impurity rich region can be discarded
• Phase Diagram (see blackboard)
• Like segregation in casting
– Different composition across length of bar
• For k<1 solute (impurities) rejected by solid
– Less soluble in solid than in liquid
• Most impurities have k<1
– ↓ k, ↑ segregation
• Mass Balance (see black board)
 Single Crystal Solidification
• Czochralski Crystal Growth – e.g. Si
wafers for microelectronics (Fig. 5.34)