Nanosheets alleviate lattice matching restrictions of epitaxial crystalline thin film growth
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Takayoshi Sasaki and colleagues at the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) and the University of Tokyo in Japan have demonstrated that using two-dimensional materials, the versatility of epitaxial growth techniques can be extended.
In 1984 Komo proposed that certain layered materials such as mica or graphite can be easily cleaved to produce surfaces with no dangling bonds that would alleviate the lattice matching requirements for epitaxial growth. Interactions between atoms on these cleaved materials would be more prominent compared with growth on single crystalline substrates since the interlayer van der Waals interactions are weak. However the variety of suitable cleaved surfaces is limited and handling them can be difficult.
With the increasing attention on two-dimensional materials over recent years Takayoshi Sasaki and colleagues decided to look into molecularly thin two-dimensional crystals as possible seed layers to alleviate lattice matching requirements in a manner similar to Komo’s van der Waals epitaxy.
They deposited nanosheets of either Ca2Nb3O10-, Ti0.87O20.52-, or MoO2δ- as highly organised layers onto amorphous glass. On these different surfaces they grew different orientations of SrTiO3, an important perovskite for various technological applications. The approach demonstrated the ability to grow different orientations of SrTiO3 with a high level of precision.
The researchers suggest that in the future, it would be of great interest to achieve more sophisticated control of growth geometry using nanosheets with a complex structure. They add, “Such advanced design, hardly realized with present technology, will pave a new way for further development of crystal engineering.”
Schematic illustration of nanosheet structures for Ca2Nb3O10-, Ti0.87O20.52-, and MoO2δ− nanosheets and corresponding crystal planes of SrTiO3. Source: Research highlight from MANA, the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics at NIMS, Tsukuba, Japan.
Visit the International Center of Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) at www.nims.go.jp/mana
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