Conclusion

Abstract

The data presented in this volume (especially those in Chapters 3, 4, and 7) show clearly that several approaches to or techniques for preparation of oriented films (including single-crystalline films) on arbitrary substrates compete with each other. At the moment, it is still unclear which will win. Moreover, it is quite likely that some specializations in the pairing of “technique vs. device” (or “circuit”) will be established in the future, so that several approaches or techniques could, in principle, dominate. Also, combinations of different techniques (e.g., lateral epitaxy with artificial epitaxy) for resolution of a given device/circuit problem are possible. Finally, new approaches and/or techniques in this field can be anticipated. Of the variety of approaches and techniques considered in this book, artificial epitaxy (or graphoepitaxy), at this time, seems to have the greatest potential for preparing oriented films on amorphous substrates.