We illustrate for a solid-liquid interface how local atomic order in a metallic melt (NiZr) transforms into a massive in-plane ordering at the surface of a crystal (bcc Zr) when commensurability is given between the solute-centered clusters of the melt and the periodic potential of the crystalline surface for a given orientation. Linking molecular dynamics simulation to phase-field modeling allows us to estimate quantitatively the influence of the surface effect on the growth kinetics. This study sheds new light on the relation between the undercooling ability (e.g., in the case of glass-forming alloys) and the pronounced local order in the melt.

• Received 3 August 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.086105