Directional epitaxial solidification

M. Brinkmann and P. Rannou, Effect of molecular weight on the stmcture and morphology of oriented thin films of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) grown by directional epitaxial solidification. Adv. Funct. Mater., 17, 101 (2007). 

Rosa CD, Park C, Thomas EL, Lotz B. 2003. Microdomain patterns from directional eutectic solidification and epitaxy. Nature 405 433 437. 

Coaxial intergrowth is a paragenetic relation that describes crystals of two different species growing with a common axis the misfit ratios between the two crystals in the direction of the common axis are small, without exception. The formation of coaxial intergrowth can be understood to be one crystal conjunct to the other in an epitaxial relation, where both continue to grow. If a liquid of eutectic A-B component is solidified from one side (unidirectional solidification), crystals of the two phases A and B precipitate in dotted, columnar or lamellar (with common axis) form, and show unique textures for unidirectional solidification. This is a well known phenomenon in metallurgy. 

---