Confined in-fiber solidification and structural control of silicon and silicon-germanium microparticles [Applied Physical Sciences]
![Confined in-fiber solidification and structural control of silicon and silicon-germanium microparticles [Applied Physical Sciences]](/image/eyJ1cmkiOiJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnBuYXMub3JnL2NvbnRlbnQvZWFybHkvMjAxNy8wNi8yMS8xNzA3Nzc4MTE0L0YxLm1lZGl1bS5naWYiLCJmb3JtYXQiOiJ3ZWJwIiwicXVhbGl0eSI6MTAwLCJub0NhY2hlIjp0cnVlfQ==.webp)
Crystallization of microdroplets of molten alloys could, in principle, present a number of possible morphological outcomes, depending on the symmetry of the propagating solidification front and its velocity, such as axial or spherically symmetric species segregation. However, because of thermal or constitutional supercooling, resulting droplets often only display dendritic morphologies. Here we report on the crystallization of alloyed droplets of controlled micrometer dimensions comprising silicon and germanium, leading to a number of surprising outcomes. We first produce an array of silicon−germanium particles embedded in silica, through capillary breakup of an alloy-core silica-cladding fiber. Heating and subsequent controlled cooling of individual particles with a two-wavelength laser setup allows us to realize two different morphologies, the first being a silicon−germanium compositionally segregated Janus particle oriented with respect to the illumination axis and the second being a sphere made of dendrites of germanium in silicon. Gigapascal-level compressive stresses are measured within pure silicon solidified in silica as a direct consequence of volume-constrained solidification of a material undergoing anomalous expansion. The ability to generate microspheres with controlled morphology and unusual stresses could pave the way toward advanced integrated in-fiber electronic or optoelectronic devices.
Publisher URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Pnas-RssFeedOfEarlyEditionArticles/~3/ZRFiQyMxMoc/1707778114.short
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1707778114
Keeping up-to-date with research can feel impossible, with papers being published faster than you'll ever be able to read them. That's where Researcher comes in: we're simplifying discovery and making important discussions happen. With over 19,000 sources, including peer-reviewed journals, preprints, blogs, universities, podcasts and Live events across 10 research areas, you'll never miss what's important to you. It's like social media, but better. Oh, and we should mention - it's free.
Researcher displays publicly available abstracts and doesn’t host any full article content. If the content is open access, we will direct clicks from the abstracts to the publisher website and display the PDF copy on our platform. Clicks to view the full text will be directed to the publisher website, where only users with subscriptions or access through their institution are able to view the full article.