A Solid State Process for Fabricating Single Crystals from Glass

Technology

 

Glass can be directly converted into a single crystal, avoiding the gaseous or liquid phase. Sb2S3 single crystals were grown in 16SbI3–84Sb2S3 glass as an example of this approach. As confirmed in this first unambiguous demonstration of an all-solid-state glass to crystal transformation, extraneous nucleation can be avoided during crystal growth via spatially localized laser heating, scanning of the laser in a specific direction relative to the orientation of the initially formed nucleus, and the inclusion of a suitable glass former in the composition. The ability to fabricate patterned single-crystal architecture on a glass surface (SCAG) was also demonstrated and provides a new class of micro-structured substrate for low-cost epitaxial growth, active planar devices, etc.

Potential Application

 

Many advanced technologies rely on single crystals of appropriate materials due to their unique mechanical, thermal, electrical, and optical properties, including optical, electronic, photonic, aerospace, homeland security, and sensing applications. However, current methods are unsuitable for growing single crystals of incongruently melting, unstable, or metastable materials, which has limited their use.

 

Lehigh Tech ID # 091615-01

 

Opportunity

 

The global Photonic IC market was valued at $150.4 million in 2012 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 26.3% to reach $1,547.6 million by 2022. It is believed that the technology will most likely enter this market first.
App Type Country Serial No. Patent No. File Date Issued Date Expire Date
Provisional [PR] United States 62/221,888   9/22/2015   9/22/2016
Utility United States 15/272,982 10,294,582 9/22/2016 5/21/2019  
For Information, Contact:
Rick Smith
Director
Lehigh University
res419@lehigh.edu
Inventors:
Himanshu Jain
Dmytro Savytskyy
Volkmar Dierolf
Keywords: