ORIENTED CRYSTALLIZATION ON AMORPHOUS SUBSTRATES

A brief review of some approaches to crystallization that allow the pr eparation of highly ordered, up to single-crystalline, films on amorph ous substrates is given. Main attention in the review is paid to a spe cific method, so-called artificial epitaxy (or graphoepitaxy), which o ffers a universal approach to preparation. General principles of the m ethod, mechanisms of the oriented crystal growth, and some demonstrati ons of the phenomenon are given. Some other approaches (lateral epitax y and rheotaxy) are also described.