Crystallization of amorphous multicomponent ionic compounds

Abstract

A method for crystallizing an amorphous multicomponent ionic compound comprises applying an external stimulus to a layer of an amorphous multicomponent ionic compound, the layer in contact with an amorphous surface of a deposition substrate at a first interface and optionally, the layer in contact with a crystalline surface at a second interface, wherein the external stimulus induces an amorphous-to-crystalline phase transformation, thereby crystallizing the layer to provide a crystalline multicomponent ionic compound, wherein the external stimulus and the crystallization are carried out at a temperature below the melting temperature of the amorphous multicomponent ionic compound. If the layer is in contact with the crystalline surface at the second interface, the temperature is further selected to achieve crystallization from the crystalline surface via solid phase epitaxial (SPE) growth without nucleation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for crystallizing an amorphous multicomponent ionic compound, the method comprising applying an external stimulus to a layer of an amorphous multicomponent ionic compound, the layer in contact with an amorphous surface of a deposition substrate at a first interface and optionally, the layer in contact with a crystalline surface at a second interface,
 wherein the external stimulus induces an amorphous-to-crystalline phase transformation, thereby crystallizing the layer to provide a crystalline multicomponent ionic compound,   wherein the external stimulus and the crystallization are carried out at a temperature below the melting temperature of the amorphous multicomponent ionic compound, and   wherein, if the layer is in contact with the crystalline surface at the second interface, the temperature is further selected to achieve crystallization from the crystalline surface via solid phase epitaxial (SPE) growth without nucleation.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the amorphous multicomponent ionic compound is an amorphous multicomponent oxide. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the amorphous multicomponent oxide is selected from perovskites, spinels, pyrochlores, and ferrites. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the amorphous surface is provided by an amorphous plastic. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising depositing the layer of the amorphous multicomponent ionic compound on the deposition substrate prior to crystallization. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the deposition is carried out at a temperature of about 300° C. or less. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising releasing and transferring the layer of the crystalline multicomponent ionic compound to a transfer substrate. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the transfer substrate is a silicon substrate. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the layer of the amorphous multicomponent ionic compound is in contact with the crystalline surface at the second interface. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the external stimulus is a thermal stimulus comprising heating the layer to the selected temperature. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the selected temperature is such that a maximum crystallization distance L C  at the selected temperature is greater than or equal to the largest distance to be crystallized via the SPE growth in the layer of the amorphous multicomponent ionic compound. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the largest distance to be crystallized is at least about 50 nm. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the largest distance to be crystallized is at least about 100 nm. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the selected temperature is no greater than about 550° C. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the deposition substrate comprises a plurality of regions, wherein the amorphous surface and the crystalline surface are ones of the plurality of regions. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the crystalline surface is a single-crystalline surface and the crystallization provides a single-crystalline multicomponent ionic compound. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the deposition substrate is non-planar and three-dimensional such that the layer of amorphous multicomponent ionic compound is characterized by a complementary three-dimensional morphology and the crystallization provides the crystalline multicomponent ionic compound also characterized by the complementary three-dimensional morphology. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the layer is not in contact with the crystalline surface at the second interface. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the crystallization provides a polycrystalline multicomponent ionic compound of the same composition as the amorphous multicomponent ionic compound. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the amorphous multicomponent ionic compound is a pyrochlore iridate.