Crystal Growth Mechanisms In Inorganic Glasses

There exist three standard phenomenological models that have been employed for the description of interface crystal growth processes in inorganic glasses. It was believed that one could decide which of these was operative in a given system by inspection of a plot of the reduced growth rate, as a function of undercooling. However, it was discovered that discerning the mechanism entails a more complex analysis, for which one has to compare the magnitudes of experimental and calculated growth rates as well as assess the physical parameters that enter into the theories. Furthermore, it was also discovered that growth mechanisms can change as the degree of undercooling of the melt is increased.