Nucleation in Solid Solution Stimulated by Non-Equilibrium Electrons. I. General Theory

✍ Scribed by S. Stoyanov; D. Kashchiev; M. Geoegiev

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1970
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 473 KB
• Volume: 41
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0370-1972
• DOI: 10.1002/pssb.19700410142

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A nucleation process proceeding at trapped electron sites in a solid solution of metal atoms within an insulating solid is considered. As a result of the more difficult migration of the condensing atoms, nucleation in a solid may follow a way which differs essentially from the condensation in a Wilson cloud chamber. By means of a properly defined effective supersaturation, expressions for the quasi‐steady state nucleation rate as well as for the total number of nuclei formed within a given time are derived. The analysis indicates that the presence of even a small number of trapped non‐equilibrium electrons may lead to a substantial increase of the nucleation rate. Inasmuch as the occurrence of non‐equilibrium electrons in a solid may be due to various reasons an application of the present theory might be attempted in various cases.