Self-Assembly of Nanocrystalline Structures from Freestanding Oxide Membranes

The exploration of crystalline nanostructures enhances the understanding of quantum phenomena occurring in spatially confined quantum matter and may lead to functional materials with unforeseen applications. A novel route to fabricating nanocrystalline oxide structures of exceptional quality is presented. This is achieved by utilizing a self-assembly process of ultrathin membranes composed of the desired oxide. The thermally induced self-assembly of nanocrystalline structures is driven by dewetting the oxide membranes once they are lifted off and transferred onto sapphire surfaces. In three successive steps, the process provides nanovoids, nanowires, and nanocrystals. Regardless of substrate orientation, the nanostructures are highly anisotropic in shape due to material retraction favoring low-index crystalline lattice directions of the membranes. The orientation of the nanostructures is provided precisely by the crystal lattice of the transferred membrane. The microstructure of the nanocrystals exhibits exceptional quality, characterized by a pristine crystal structure and uniform stoichiometry, both maintained all the way down to the well-developed crystalline facets. The demonstrated self-assembly process holds the potential to improve the understanding of surface diffusion phenomena at the interface of materials, which is important for advancing epitaxial growth technology and paves the way to fabricating crystalline nanostructures by the transfer and self-assembly of membranes.