Growth of bulk β-FeSi_2 crystals by annealing of well-aligned solidification structures

摘要

Bulk β-FeSi_2 crystals were grown by annealing of unidirectionally solidified structures with rods of the ε-FeSi in the α-FeSi_2 matrix. The crystallographic orientation of annealed samples was investigated by means of electron-backscattered pattern analysis. It was found that there were fibrous single crystals of β-FeSi_2 in the sample. The β-FeSi_2 crystal was easily grown along the solidification direction. The formation of the fibrous β-FeSi_2 single crystals resulted from limited nucleation at the initial stage.