A COMBINATORIAL APPROACH TO MATERIALS DISCOVERY

A method that combines thin film deposition and physical masking techn iques has been used for the parallel synthesis of spatially addressabl e libraries of solid-state materials. Arrays containing different comb inations, stoichiometries, and deposition sequences of BaCO3, Bi2O3, C aO, CuO, PbO, SrCO3, and Y2O3 were generated with a series of binary m asks. The arrays were sintered and BiSrCaCuO and YBaCuO superconductin g films were identified. Samples as small as 200 micrometers by 200 mi crometers in size were generated, corresponding to library densities o f 10,000 sites per square inch. The ability to generate and screen com binatorial libraries of solid-state compounds, when coupled with theor y and empirical observations, may significantly increase the rate at w hich novel electronic, magnetic, and optical materials are discovered and theoretical predictions tested.