Growth morphologies and mechanisms of non-equilibrium solidified MC carbide

Growth morphologies and mechanisms of the carbide of group IVB and VB elements (MC carbide), a typical faceted crystal, were studied with an estimated cooling rate from 10² to 10⁵ K/s. Results showed that although the growth morphologies of the MC carbide vary remarkably with solidification cooling rate, the solid/liquid interface is always atomically smooth, and the growth mechanisms are always lateral growth. The growth mechanism transition from lateral to continuous growth mode, which was predicted by the classic crystal growth theory, was not observed for the TiC type MC carbide within the estimated cooling rate range of 10²–10⁵ K/s.