X-ray initiation of nonthermal growth of single crystal pyramids in amorphous barium titanate

摘要

Nonthermal crystallization of amorphous barium titanate (BTO) was initiated by a monochromatic x-ray microbeam from a synchrotron radiation source. Following x-ray exposure, micron-sized BTO single crystals with a true square pyramid shape appeared on the surface of an amorphous BTO substrate-free film. The location and size of the areas in which crystal growth appeared fit well the x-ray microbeam path and size, respectively. A plausible mechanism of x-ray induced initiation of nonthermal crystallization in BTO is proposed. The observed phenomenon holds promise for materials engineering at nanoscale and crystallization of amorphous materials in situations where heating must be avoided.