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The occurrence of amorphous phases turned out to be a phenomenon of particular interest for the
studying of thin-film growth.[32] The growth of polycrystalline films is often used and preceded by an
initial amorphous layer, the thickness of which may amount to only a few nm. The most investigated
example is represented by the unoriented molecules of thin polycrystalline silicon films.[d][33] Wedge-
shaped polycrystals were identified by transmission electron microscopy to grow out of the
amorphous phase only after the latter has exceeded a certain thickness, the precise value of which
depends on deposition temperature, background pressure, and various other process parameters. The
phenomenon has been interpreted in the framework of Ostwald's rule of stages[34] that predicts the
formation of phases to proceed with increasing condensation time towards increasing
stability.[24][33][e]

Notes
a. See the structure of liquids and glasses for more information on non-crystalline material structure.
b. For higher values, the surface diffusion of deposited atomic species would allow for the formation
of crystallites with long-range atomic order.
c. In the case of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon, the missing long-range order between silicon
atoms is partly induced by the presence of hydrogen in the percent range.
d. An initial amorphous layer was observed in many studies of thin polycrystalline silicon films.
e. Experimental studies of the phenomenon require a clearly defined state of the substrate surface—
and its contaminant density, etc.—upon which the thin film is deposited.

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Further reading
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphous_solid 8/9
2/21/24, 11:31 AM Amorphous solid - Wikipedia

R. Zallen (1969). The Physics of Amorphous Solids. Wiley Interscience.

S.R. Elliot (1990). The Physics of Amorphous Materials (2nd ed.). Longman.
A. Zaccone (2023). Theory of Disordered Solids. Springer.
N. Cusack (1969). The Physics of Structurally Disordered Matter: An Introduction. IOP Publishing.
N.H. March; R.A. Street; M.P. Tosi, eds. (1969). Amorphous Solids and the Liquid State. Springer.
D.A. Adler; B.B. Schwartz; M.C. Steele, eds. (1969). Physical Properties of Amorphous Materials.
Springer.
A. Inoue; K. Hasimoto, eds. (1969). Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Materials. Springer.

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