Spin coating epitaxial films

Spin-coated films, such as photoresists for lithography or perovskite films for solar cells, are either amorphous or polycrystalline. We show that epitaxial films of inorganic materials such as cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr₃), lead(II) iodide (PbI₂), zinc oxide (ZnO), and sodium chloride (NaCl) can be deposited onto a variety of single-crystal and single-crystal-like substrates by simply spin coating either solutions of the material or precursors to the material. The out-of-plane and in-plane orientations of the spin-coated films are determined by the substrate. The thin stagnant layer of supersaturated solution produced during spin coating promotes heterogeneous nucleation of the material onto the single-crystal substrate over homogeneous nucleation in the bulk solution, and ordered anion adlayers may lower the activation energy for nucleation on the surface. The method can be used to produce functional materials such as inorganic semiconductors or to deposit water-soluble materials such as NaCl that can serve as growth templates.