Synthesis of freestanding single-crystal perovskite films and heterostructures by etching of sacrificial water-soluble layers

Di Lu; David J Baek; Seung Sae Hong; Lena F Kourkoutis; Yasuyuki Hikita; Harold Y Hwang

doi:10.1038/nmat4749

Synthesis of freestanding single-crystal perovskite films and heterostructures by etching of sacrificial water-soluble layers

Nat Mater. 2016 Dec;15(12):1255-1260. doi: 10.1038/nmat4749. Epub 2016 Sep 12.

Authors

Di Lu^{1

2}, David J Baek³, Seung Sae Hong^{2

4}, Lena F Kourkoutis^{5

6}, Yasuyuki Hikita², Harold Y Hwang^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
² Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
³ School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
⁴ Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
⁵ School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
⁶ Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.

PMID: 27618712
DOI: 10.1038/nmat4749

Abstract

The ability to create and manipulate materials in two-dimensional (2D) form has repeatedly had transformative impact on science and technology. In parallel with the exfoliation and stacking of intrinsically layered crystals, atomic-scale thin film growth of complex materials has enabled the creation of artificial 2D heterostructures with novel functionality and emergent phenomena, as seen in perovskite heterostructures. However, separation of these layers from the growth substrate has proved challenging, limiting the manipulation capabilities of these heterostructures with respect to exfoliated materials. Here we present a general method to create freestanding perovskite membranes. The key is the epitaxial growth of water-soluble Sr ₃Al ₂O ₆ on perovskite substrates, followed by in situ growth of films and heterostructures. Millimetre-size single-crystalline membranes are produced by etching the Sr ₃Al ₂O ₆ layer in water, providing the opportunity to transfer them to arbitrary substrates and integrate them with heterostructures of semiconductors and layered compounds.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.