In underdoped cuprate high-Tc superconductors, various local orders and symmetry-breaking states, in addition to superconductivity, reside in the CuO2 planes. The confinement of the CuO2 planes can therefore play a fundamental role in modifying the hierarchy between the various orders and their intertwining with superconductivity. Here we present the growth of a-axis oriented YBa2Cu3O7-δ films, spanning the whole underdoped side of the phase diagram. In these samples, the CuO2 planes are confined by the film thickness, effectively forming unit-cell-thick nanoribbons. The unidirectional confinement at the nanoscale enhances the in-plane anisotropy of the films. By x-ray diffraction and resistance vs temperature measurements, we have discovered the suppression of the orthorhombic-to-tetragonal transition at low dopings, and a very high anisotropy of the normal state resistance in the b-c plane, the latter being connected to a weak coupling between adjacent CuO2 nanoribbons. These findings show that the samples we have grown represent a novel system, different from the bulk, where future experiments can possibly shed light on the rich and mysterious physics occurring within the CuO2 planes.

In this paper we present a process of forming monolithic GaN surface from an ordered nanowire array by means of material redistribution. This process, referred to as reformation, is performed in a conventional MOVPE crystal growth system with the gallium supply turned off and allows a crystal nanostructure to change shape according to differences in surface energies between its facets. Using reformation, coalescence may proceed closer to thermodynamic equilibrium, which is required for fabrication of high-quality substrate material. Scanning probe techniques are utilized, complemented by cathodoluminescence and electron microscopy, to investigate structural and electrical properties of the surface after reformation, as well as to assess densities, location, and formation of different types of defects in the GaN film. Spatial variations in material properties such as intrinsic majority-carrier types can be attributed to the radical changes in growth conditions required for sequential transition between nanowire growth, selective shell growth, and reformation. These properties enable us to assess the impact of the process on densities, locations, and formation of different types of dislocations in the GaN film. We find a fraction of the nanowires to comprise of a single electrically neutral edge dislocation, propagating from the GaN buffer, while electrically active dislocations are found at coalesced interfaces between nanowires. By decreasing the mask aperture size and changing the nucleation conditions the prevalence of nanowires comprising edge dislocation was significantly reduced from 6% to 3%, while the density of interface dislocations was reduced from 6×108 to 4×107cm-2. Using a sequential reformation process was found to create inversion domains with low surface potential N-polar regions in an otherwise Ga-polar GaN film. The inversion domains were associated with pinned dislocation pairs, and were further confirmed by selective wet etching in NaOH. This lateral polarity inversion was thoroughly eliminated in samples formed by a continuous reformation process. These results reveal a path and challenges for growing GaN substrates of superior crystal quality through nanowire reformation.