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YBa 2 Cu 3 O y liquid‐phase epitaxy films of a orientation grown under ultra‐low supersaturation caused by a homogeneous nucleation catastrophe
Author(s) -
Guo L. S.,
Chen Y. Y.,
Cheng L.,
Rao Q. L.,
Yao Xin
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied crystallography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.429
H-Index - 162
ISSN - 1600-5767
DOI - 10.1107/s0021889813023558
Subject(s) - supersaturation , nucleation , epitaxy , homogeneous , metastability , crystallography , materials science , phase (matter) , substrate (aquarium) , crystal growth , liquid phase , chemical physics , chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , thermodynamics , nanotechnology , layer (electronics) , physics , geology , oceanography , organic chemistry , chromatography
Using liquid‐phase epitaxy, a novel approach is reported for preparing a pure a ‐axis‐oriented YBa 2 Cu 3 O y film ( a ‐film) on a (110) NdGaO 3 substrate in ambient air, which is hard to achieve through conventional processes since its formation requires an extremely low supersaturation state. In the new process, instead of commonly used growth processes in a metastable zone, a ‐films were grown in an unstable zone of the Y–Ba–Cu–O solution. Under that circumstance, a homogeneous nucleation catastrophe occurred in the solution, leading to instantaneous consumption of most of the supersaturated Y solute. Thus a high degree of supersaturation rapidly relaxed to an ultra‐low level. By controlling either the cooling rate or the growth temperature, a wide window for the formation of the a ‐film was gained. In principle, this new method should be universally valid for more crystal or film growth processes, particularly when an ultra‐low supersaturation is required in solution.