Non-equilibrium solidification processes in bulk undercooled eutectic Ni78.
6Si21.4 melts are investigated with respect to metastable phase and microst
ructure formation. Melt undercooling levels up to 250 K have been achieved
by an electromagnetic levitation technique. The in-situ observation of reca
lescence events was accomplished by a fast responding silicon diode. Levita
ted drops of controlled undercooling prior to solidification were quenched
onto chill substrates. A transition from coupled eutectic to primary dendri
te growth beyond a critical undercooling level of 30-50 K was revealed from
double-recalescence events. Quenched samples displayed a featureless zone
of the metastable hexagonal high-temperature phase Ni25Si9, which replaces
the equilibrium phases. The metastable dendrites gradually decompose into a
n anomalous eutectic microstructure on slow post-solidification cooling. (C
) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.