Specific features of motion of molten zones in the field of silicon structural inhomogeneity

The formation and dynamics of molten Al–Si inclusions in silicon at temperatures of 1123–1273 K in the dislocation-density gradient field are investigated. It is established that the molten inclusion moves as a whole in accordance with the melting–crystallization mechanism: dissolution is observed at the front boundary in the region with a higher dislocation concentration and crystallization and on the back surface in the region with a lower one. The migration rates and activation energies are experimentally determined. It is demonstrated that the inclusion migration is limited by the melting–crystallization processes at the interfaces between the melt and matrix.