Understanding the phase separation mechanism of solid-state binary compounds induced by laser–material interaction is a challenge because of the complexity of the compound materials and short processing times. Here we present xenon chloride excimer laser-induced melt-mediated phase separation and surface reconstruction of single-crystal silicon carbide and study this process by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and a time-resolved reflectance method. A single-pulse laser irradiation triggers melting of the silicon carbide surface, resulting in a phase separation into a disordered carbon layer with partially graphitic domains (∼2.5 nm) and polycrystalline silicon (∼5 nm). Additional pulse irradiations cause sublimation of only the separated silicon element and subsequent transformation of the disordered carbon layer into multilayer graphene. The results demonstrate viability of synthesizing ultra-thin nanomaterials by the decomposition of a binary system.

Low-defect-density polycrystalline Si on flexible substrates can be instrumental in realizing the full potential of macroelectronics. Direct deposition or solid-phase crystallization techniques are often incompatible with polymers and produce materials with high defect densities. Excimer-laser annealing is capable of producing films of reasonable quality directly on polymer and metallic substrates. Sequential lateral solidification (SLS) is an advanced pulsed-laser-crystallization technique capable of producing Si films on polymers with lower defect density than can be obtained via excimer-laser annealing. Circuits built directly on polymers using these SLS films show the highest performance reported to date. For more information, see http://www.mrs.org/bulletin_ads For more information, see http://www.mrs.org/bulletin_ads

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