Electron beam heating as a tool for fabricating lattice engineered crystals in glass [Invited]

Abstract

Laser heating is well-established to impart optical functionality into glass by local modification and crystallization. In this paper, we demonstrate electron beam heating in scanning and transmission microscopes as an alternative for the local crystallization of Sb2S3 in Sb-S-I glasses as a model system. Governed by different absorption physics, the electron beam expands morphological control of crystal cross section relative to laser, producing nanoscale (∼50 nm) single crystal architectures. We also report the effects of accelerating voltage and probe current and characterize the curved lattice of crystals formed in glass with electron diffraction techniques.