AbstractWe report and interpret two groups of experiments on the role that hydrogen plays in the formation of silicon microcrystals. We show that the growth of singlecrystal Si by molecular beam epitaxy at 475°C is disrupted by H2, which induces the formation of microcrystals. In crystallization experiments of non-hydrogenated a-Si and of hydrogenated a-Si:H on a hot stage in a transmission electron microscope, hydrogen facilitates the nucleation of crystallites. We explain our observations with a substantial reduction of the grain boundary energy by hydrogen.
Role of Stronger Interlayer van der Waals Coupling in Twin‐Free Molecular Beam Epitaxy of 2D Chalcogenides