Ultra-large single crystals by abnormal grain growth

Prestrain Guided Yield of Large Single-Crystal Nickel Foils with High-Index Facets

Single-crystal metal foils with high-index facets are currently being investigated owing to their potential application in the epitaxial growth of high-quality van der Waals film materials, electrochemical catalysis, gas sensing, and other fields. However, the controllable synthesis of large single-crystal metal foils with high-index facets remains a great challenge because high-index facets with high surface energy are not preferentially formed thermodynamically and kinetically. Herein, single-crystal nickel foils with a series of high-index facets are efficiently prepared by applying prestrain energy engineering technique, with the largest single-crystal foil exceeding 5×8 cm2 in size. In terms of thermodynamics, the internal mechanism of prestrain regulation on the formation of high-index facets is proposed. Molecular dynamics simulation is utilized to replicate and explain the phenomenon of multiple crystallographic orientations resulting from prestrain regulation. Additionally, large-sized and high-quality graphite films are successfully fabricated on single-crystal Ni(012) foils. Compared to the polycrystalline nickel, the graphite/single-crystal Ni(012) foil composites show more than five-fold increase in thermal conductivity, thereby showing great potential applications in thermal management. This study hence presents a novel approach for the preparation of single-crystal nickel foils with high-index facets, which is beneficial for the epitaxial growth of certain two-dimensional materials.

Fabrication of p-type 2D single-crystalline transistor arrays with Fermi-level-tuned van der Waals semimetal electrodes

High-performance p-type two-dimensional (2D) transistors are fundamental for 2D nanoelectronics. However, the lack of a reliable method for creating high-quality, large-scale p-type 2D semiconductors and a suitable metallization process represents important challenges that need to be addressed for future developments of the field. Here, we report the fabrication of scalable p-type 2D single-crystalline 2H-MoTe2 transistor arrays with Fermi-level-tuned 1T'-phase semimetal contact electrodes. By transforming polycrystalline 1T'-MoTe2 to 2H polymorph via abnormal grain growth, we fabricated 4-inch 2H-MoTe2 wafers with ultra-large single-crystalline domains and spatially-controlled single-crystalline arrays at a low temperature (~500 °C). Furthermore, we demonstrate on-chip transistors by lithographic patterning and layer-by-layer integration of 1T' semimetals and 2H semiconductors. Work function modulation of 1T'-MoTe2 electrodes was achieved by depositing 3D metal (Au) pads, resulting in minimal contact resistance (~0.7 kΩ·μm) and near-zero Schottky barrier height (~14 meV) of the junction interface, and leading to high on-state current (~7.8 μA/μm) and on/off current ratio (~105) in the 2H-MoTe2 transistors.

Non-Hookean large elastic deformation in bulk crystalline metals

Crystalline metals can have large theoretical elastic strain limits. However, a macroscopic block of conventional crystalline metals practically suffers a very limited elastic deformation of <0.5% with a linear stress–strain relationship obeying Hooke’s law. Here, we report on the experimental observation of a large tensile elastic deformation with an elastic strain of >4.3% in a Cu-based single crystalline alloy at its bulk scale at room temperature. The large macroscopic elastic strain that originates from the reversible lattice strain of a single phase is demonstrated by in situ microstructure and neutron diffraction observations. Furthermore, the elastic reversible deformation, which is nonhysteretic and quasilinear, is associated with a pronounced elastic softening phenomenon. The increase in the stress gives rise to a reduced Young’s modulus, unlike the traditional Hooke’s law behaviour. The experimental discovery of a non-Hookean large elastic deformation offers the potential for the development of bulk crystalline metals as high-performance mechanical springs or for new applications via “elastic strain engineering.”

Engineering metals often suffer from a small elastic deformation with a linear stress-strain relationship obeying Hooke’s law. Here the authors observe a large nonlinear tensile elastic deformation with a strain of >4.3% in a bulk Cu alloy that offers potential for elastic strain engineering.

Flexible and Tough Superelastic Co-Cr Alloys for Biomedical Applications

The demand for biomaterials has been increasing along with the increase in the population of elderly people worldwide. The mechanical properties and high wear resistance of metallic biomaterials make them well-suited for use as substitutes or as support for damaged hard tissues. However, unless these biomaterials also have a low Young's modulus similar to that of human bones, bone atrophy inevitably occurs. Because a low Young's modulus is typically associated with poor wear resistance, it is difficult to realize a low Young's modulus and high wear resistance simultaneously. Also, the superelastic property of shape-memory alloys makes them suitable for biomedical applications, like vascular stents and guide wires. However, due to the low recoverable strain of conventional biocompatible shape-memory alloys, the demand for a new alloy system is high. The novel body-centered-cubic cobalt-chromium-based alloys in this work provide a solution to both of these problems. The Young's modulus of <001>-oriented single-crystal cobalt-chromium-based alloys is 10-30 GPa, which is similar to that of human bone, and they also demonstrate high wear and corrosion resistance. They also exhibit superelasticity with a huge recoverable strain up to 17.0%. For these reasons, the novel cobalt-chromium-based alloys can be promising candidates for biomedical applications.

Bottom-Up-Etching-Mediated Synthesis of Large-Scale Pure Monolayer Graphene on Cyclic-Polishing-Annealed Cu(111)

Synthesis of large-scale single-crystalline graphene monolayers without multilayers involves the fabrication of proper single-crystalline substrates and the ubiquitous formation of multilayered graphene islands during chemical vapor deposition. Here, a method of cyclic electrochemical polishing combined with thermal annealing, which allows the conversion of commercial polycrystalline Cu foils to single-crystal Cu(111) with an almost 100% yield, is presented. A global "bottom-up-etching" method that is capable of fabricating large-area pure single-crystalline graphene monolayers without multilayers through selectively etching bottom multilayered graphene underneath large area as-grown graphene monolayer on Cu(111) surface is demonstrated. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) measurement of the pure monolayer graphene film shows a high average sheet conductivity of 2.8 mS and mean carrier mobility of 6903 cm² V^-1 s^-1 over a large area. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the selective etching is induced by the much easier diffusion of hydrogen atoms than hydrocarbon radicals across the edges of the top graphene layer, and the simulated selective etching processes based on phase field modeling are well consistent with experimental observations. This work provides new ways toward the production of single-crystal Cu(111) and the synthesis of pure monolayer graphene with high electronic quality.

A novel mechanism to generate metallic single crystals

Generally, the evolution of metallic single crystals is based on crystal growth. The single crystal is either produced by growing a seed single crystal or by sophisticated grain selection processes followed by crystal growth. Here, we describe for the first time a fully new mechanism to generate single crystals based on thermo-mechanically induced texture formation during additive manufacturing. The single crystal develops due to two different mechanisms. The first step is a standard grain selection process due to directional solidification, leading to a pronounced fiber texture. The second and new mechanism bases on successive thermo-mechanically induced plastic deformations and texture formation in FCC crystals under compression. During this second step, the columnar grain structure transforms into a single crystal by rotation of individual grains. Thus, the single crystal forms step by step by merging the originally columnar grain structure. This novel, stress induced mechanism opens up completely new perspectives to fabricate single crystalline components and to accurately adjust the orientation according to the load.

Reaching silicon-based NEMS performances with 3D printed nanomechanical resonators

The extreme miniaturization in NEMS resonators offers the possibility to reach an unprecedented resolution in high-performance mass sensing. These very low limits of detection are related to the combination of two factors: a small resonator mass and a high quality factor. The main drawback of NEMS is represented by the highly complex, multi-steps, and expensive fabrication processes. Several alternatives fabrication processes have been exploited, but they are still limited to MEMS range and very low-quality factor. Here we report the fabrication of rigid NEMS resonators with high-quality factors by a 3D printing approach. After a thermal step, we reach complex geometry printed devices composed of ceramic structures with high Young’s modulus and low damping showing performances in line with silicon-based NEMS resonators ones. We demonstrate the possibility of rapid fabrication of NEMS devices that present an effective alternative to semiconducting resonators as highly sensitive mass and force sensors.

NEMS devices, nano-electro-mechanical systems, by virtue of their minute size, offer ultra-high sensitivity, though at the expense of manufacturing complexity. Here, Stassi et al succeed in manufacturing high quality factor NEMS devices using high resolution 3D printing.

On the Decrease in Transformation Stress in a Bicrystal Cu-Al-Mn Shape-Memory Alloy during Cyclic Compressive Deformation

The evolution of the inhomogeneous distribution of the transformation stress (σs) and strain fields with an increasing number of cycles in two differently orientated grains is investigated for the first time using a combined technique of digital image correlation and data-driven identification. The theoretical transformation strains (εT) of these two grains with crystal orientations [5 3 26]β and [6 5 11]β along the loading direction are 10.1% and 7.1%, respectively. The grain with lower εT has a higher σs initially and a faster decrease in σs compared with the grain with higher εT. The results show that the grains with higher σs might trigger more dislocations during the martensite transformation, and thus result in greater residual strain and a larger decrease in σs during subsequent cycles. Grain boundary kinking in bicrystal induces an additional decrease in transformation stress. We conclude that a grain with crystal orientation that has high transformation strain and low transformation stress (with respect to loading direction) will exhibit stable transformation stress, and thus lead to higher functional performance in Cu-based shape memory alloys.

Shear-assisted grain coarsening in colloidal polycrystals

Grain growth under shear annealing is crucial for controlling the properties of polycrystalline materials. However, their microscopic kinetics are not well understood because individual atomic trajectories are difficult to track. Here, we study grain growth with single-particle kinetics in colloidal polycrystals using video microscopy. Rich grain-growth phenomena are revealed in three shear regimes, including the normal grain growth (NGG) in weak shear melting-recrystallization process in strong shear. For intermediate shear, early stage NGG is arrested by built-up stress and eventually gives way to dynamic abnormal grain growth (DAGG). We find that DAGG occurs via a melting-recrystallization process, which naturally explains the puzzling stress drop at the onset of DAGG in metals. Moreover, we visualize that grain boundary (GB) migration is coupled with shear via disconnection gliding. The disconnection-gliding dynamics and the collective motions of ambient particles are resolved. We also observed that grain rotation can violate the conventional relation [Formula: see text] (R is the grain radius, and θ is the misorientation angle between two grains) by emission and annihilation of dislocations across the grain, resulting in a step-by-step rotation. Besides grain growth, we discover a result in shear-induced melting: The melting volume fraction varies sinusoidally on the angle mismatch between the triangular lattice orientation of the grain and the shear direction. These discoveries hold potential to inform microstructure engineering of polycrystalline materials.

Iron-based superelastic alloys with near-constant critical stress temperature dependence

Shape memory alloys recover their original shape after deformation, making them useful for a variety of specialized applications. Superelastic behavior begins at the critical stress, which tends to increase with increasing temperature for metal shape memory alloys. Temperature dependence is a common feature that often restricts the use of metal shape memory alloys in applications. We discovered an iron-based superelastic alloy system in which the critical stress can be optimized. Our Fe-Mn-Al-Cr-Ni alloys have a controllable temperature dependence that goes from positive to negative, depending on the chromium content. This phenomenon includes a temperature-invariant stress dependence. This behavior is highly desirable for a range of outer space-based and other applications that involve large temperature fluctuations.

Anisotropic Grain Growth in (111) Nanotwinned Cu Films by DC Electrodeposition

We have reported a method of fabricating (111)-orientated nanotwinned copper (nt-Cu) by direct current electroplating. X-ray analysis was performed for the samples annealed at 200 to 350 °C for an hour. X-ray diffraction indicates that the (200) signal intensity increases while (111) decreases. Abnormal grain growth normally results from transformation of surface energy or strain energy density. The average grain size increased from 3.8 µm for the as-deposited Cu films to 65-70 µm after the annealing at 250 °C for 1 h. For comparison, no significant grain growth behavior was observed by random Cu film after annealing for an hour. This research shows the potential for its broad electric application in interconnects and three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D IC) packaging.

Phase Field Modelling of Abnormal Grain Growth

Heterogeneous grain structures may develop due to abnormal grain growth during processing of polycrystalline materials ranging from metals and alloys to ceramics. The phenomenon must be controlled in practical applications where typically homogeneous grain structures are desired. Recent advances in experimental and computational techniques have, thus, stimulated the need to revisit the underlying growth mechanisms. Here, phase field modelling is used to systematically evaluate conditions for initiation of abnormal grain growth. Grain boundaries are classified into two classes, i.e., high- and low-mobility boundaries. Three different approaches are considered for having high- and low-mobility boundaries: (i) critical threshold angle of grain boundary disorientation above which boundaries are highly mobile, (ii) two grain types A and B with the A–B boundaries being highly mobile, and (iii) three grain types, A, B and C with the A–B boundaries being fast. For these different scenarios, 2D simulations have been performed to quantify the effect of variations in the mobility ratio, threshold angle and fractions of grain types, respectively, on the potential onset of abnormal grain growth and the degree of heterogeneity in the resulting grain structures. The required mobility ratios to observe abnormal grain growth are quantified as a function of the fraction of high-mobility boundaries. The scenario with three grain types (A, B, C) has been identified as one that promotes strongly irregular abnormal grains including island grains, as observed experimentally.

Promoting abnormal grain growth in Fe-based shape memory alloys through compositional adjustments

Iron-based shape memory alloys are promising candidates for large-scale structural applications due to their cost efficiency and the possibility of using conventional processing routes from the steel industry. However, recently developed alloy systems like Fe–Mn–Al–Ni suffer from low recoverability if the grains do not completely cover the sample cross-section. To overcome this issue, here we show that small amounts of titanium added to Fe–Mn–Al–Ni significantly enhance abnormal grain growth due to a considerable refinement of the subgrain sizes, whereas small amounts of chromium lead to a strong inhibition of abnormal grain growth. By tailoring and promoting abnormal grain growth it is possible to obtain very large single crystalline bars. We expect that the findings of the present study regarding the elementary mechanisms of abnormal grain growth and the role of chemical composition can be applied to tailor other alloy systems with similar microstructural features.

Novel iron-based shape memory alloys could be candidates for large-scale structural applications if their grains grew large and long enough. Here, the authors add titanium to an Fe–Mn–Al–Ni shape-memory alloy to promote large grains via compositional tuning of abnormal grain growth.

Ambient Aqueous-Phase Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles and Nanopastes with Low-Temperature Sintering and Ultra-High Bonding Abilities

Copper nanoparticles (NPs) with an average particle diameter of 50–60 nm were successfully obtained by reducing an aqueous solution of a copper(II)-nitrilotriacetic acid complex with an aqueous hydrazine solution at room temperature under an air atmosphere. Copper NP-based nanopastes were printed onto a glass substrate using a metal screen mask and pressureless sintered under a nitrogen atmosphere at 200 °C for 30 min. The electrical resistivity of the resulting copper electrode was 16 μΩ · cm. For a metal-to-metal bonding test, copper nanopaste was printed on an oxygen-free copper plate, another oxygen-free copper plate was placed on top, and the bonding strength between the copper plates when pressureless sintered under a nitrogen atmosphere at 200 °C for 30 min was 39 MPa. TEM observations confirmed that highly crystalline metal bonding occurred between the copper NPs and the copper plate to introduce the ultrahigh strength. The developed copper NPs could provide promising advances as nanopastes for sustainable fabrication of copper electrodes and die attachment materials for the production of next-generation power semiconductors.

Polycrystalline to preferred-(100) single crystal texture phase transformation of yttrium iron garnet nanoparticles

Nanocrystalline Ce-substituted yttrium iron garnet (YIG) powders of different compositions, Y_3-x Ce _x Fe₅O₁₂ (0 ≤ x ≤ 2.0), were synthesized by a combination of sol-gel auto-combustion and solid-state synthesis techniques. The as-obtained powder samples were sintered at 1150 °C for 10 h. The garnet structure formation is confirmed by the X-ray diffraction pattern, which shows that the calculated lattice parameter increased for x = 1.0 and shows a decreasing trend for x ≥ 1.0 with the addition of cerium ions. The lattice parameter increased from 12.38 Å to 12.41 Å for x ≤ 1.0 whereas it decreased from 12.412 Å to 12.405 Å with the cerium composition for x > 1.0. The average particle size determined by high resolution transmission electron microscopy is in the range of 50 to 90 nm and found to increase with the substitution of cerium ions in YIG. The room temperature magnetic parameters such as saturation magnetization, coercivity and remanence magnetization are greatly affected by the substitution of cerium ions. The values of saturation magnetization decrease from 25.5 to 15 emu g^-1 whereas coercivity increases from 1 to 28 Oe with the substitution of cerium ions. The pure YIG sample shows polycrystalline nature that changed towards a single-crystal structure leading to a preferred-(100) orientation with the Ce substitution. The change from a ring to a spotty pattern observed in SAED confirmed the crystalline phase transformation and is well supported by HRTEM and magnetic measurements. The behavior of magnetic and electrical properties is well supported by the poly- and single-crystalline nature of YIG and Ce-YIG, respectively. The crystal structure transformation in YIG brought about by Ce substitution could unveil enormous opportunities in the preparation of single-crystal materials from their polycrystalline counterparts.

Compelling Rejuvenated Catalytic Performance in Metallic Glasses

Metallic glasses (MGs) with the metastable nature and random atomic packing structure have attracted large attention in the catalytic family due to their superior catalytic performance. In contrast, their crystalline counterparts are restricted by the highly ordered packing structure, fewer surface active sites, and crystallographic defects for catalytic activity. The uncertainty of the different catalytic mechanisms and the intrinsic characteristics correlated to MGs and their crystalline counterparts become a major impediment to promote their catalytic efficiencies and widespread applications. Herein, it is reported that the excellent catalytic behavior in Fe-based MGs goes through a detrimental effect with the partial crystallization, but receives a compelling rejuvenation in the full crystallization. Further investigation reveals that multiphase intermetallics with electric potential differences in fully crystallized alloys facilitate the formation of galvanic cells. More importantly, extensively reduced grain boundaries due to grain growth greatly weaken electron trapping and promote inner electron transportation. The relatively homogenous grain-boundary corrosion in the intermetallics contributes to well-separated phases after reaction, leading to refreshment of the surface active sites, thereby quickly activating hydrogen peroxide and rapidly degrading organic pollutants. The exploration of catalytic mechanisms in the crystalline counterparts of MGs provides significant insights into revolutionize novel catalysts.

Colossal grain growth yields single-crystal metal foils by contact-free annealing

Single-crystal metals have distinctive properties owing to the absence of grain boundaries and strong anisotropy. Commercial single-crystal metals are usually synthesized by bulk crystal growth or by deposition of thin films onto substrates, and they are expensive and small. We prepared extremely large single-crystal metal foils by “contact-free annealing” from commercial polycrystalline foils. The colossal grain growth (up to 32 square centimeters) is achieved by minimizing contact stresses, resulting in a preferred in-plane and out-of-plane crystal orientation, and is driven by surface energy minimization during the rotation of the crystal lattice followed by “consumption” of neighboring grains. Industrial-scale production of single-crystal metal foils is possible as a result of this discovery.

Synchronized-pressing fabrication of cost-efficient crystalline perovskite solar cells via intermediate engineering

A cost-effective fabrication method that can produce a remarkable enhancement in the device efficiency along with a reduction in the fabrication cost is one of the crucial requirements for the commercialization of perovskite-based solar cells. Here, we report a low-cost, printable, and highly effective synchronized-pressing annealing (SPA) method for inverted planar perovskite solar cells. In this method, two films are combined face-to-face for annealing, and separated as in a roll-to-roll process. Consequently, the SPA method provides two homogeneous highly crystalline MAPbI3 films with monolithic millimeter-scale crystalline grains by intermediate-induced crystallization engineering. The grains present a tendency of oriented growth along the <110> direction, parallel to the substrate, which leads to efficient charge transport. The IPSCs fabricated by the SPA method demonstrate a high efficiency of ∼17% with significantly enhanced photocurrents and fill factors. Moreover, the characteristics of both top and bottom devices are very similar, with nearly identical J-V curves and photoresponse spectra. As the SPA method is compatible with the printing technology for mass production, and as it can produce twin devices of high quality via one fabrication process, it can provide a remarkable reduction in the fabrication cost.