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Science 30 April 1993:
Vol. 260. no. 5108, pp. 656 - 659
DOI: 10.1126/science.260.5108.656
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Articles

Van der Waals Epitaxial Growth of agr-Alumina Nanocrystals on Mica

S. Steinberg 1, W. Ducker 1, G. Vigil 1, C. Hyukjin 2, C. Frank 2, M. Z. Tseng 3, D. R. Clarke 4, and J. N. Israelachvili 1

1 Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
3 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
4 Materials Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106

Lattice mismatch stresses, which severely restrict heteroepitaxial growth, are greatly minimized when thin alumina films are grown by means of van der Waals forces on inert mica substrates. A 10-nanometer-thick epitaxial film exhibits crystallographic sixfold symmetry, a lattice constant close to that of the basal plane [0001] of agr-alumina (sapphire), and an aluminum: oxygen atomic ratio of 1:1.51 ± 0.02 (measured by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), again the same as for bulk sapphire. The film is free of steps and grain boundaries over large areas and appears to be an ideal model system for studying adhesion, tribology, and other surface phenomena at atomic scales.

Submitted on November 30, 1992
Accepted on February 24, 1993


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Stepwise Formation of Multilayered Nanostructural Films from Macromolecular Precursors.
E. R. Kleinfeld and G. S. Ferguson (1994)
Science 265, 370-373
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