Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
At the solidification velocities observed during pulsed laser annealing, the planar interface between solid and liquid is stabilized by capillarity and nonequilibrium effects such as solute trapping. We used Rutherford backscattering and electron microscopy to determine the nonequilibrium partition coefficient and critical concentration for breakdown of the planar interface as a function of interface velocity for Sn-implanted silicon. This allows us to test the applicability of the Mullins- Sekerka stability theory to interfaces not in local equilibrium and to test the Coriell-Sekerka and other theories for oscillatory instabilities.