Phase glides and self-organization of atomically abrupt interfaces out of stochastic disorder in α-Ga2O3

A Azarov and JG Fernández and JL Zhao and R He and JH Park and DW Jeon and O Prytz and F Djurabekova and A Kuznetsov, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 16, 3245 (2025).

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58516-9

Disorder-induced ordering and remarkably high radiation tolerance in gamma-phase of gallium oxide is a recent spectacular discovery at the intersection of the fundamental physics and electronic applications. Importantly, by far, these data were collected with initial samples in form of the thermodynamically stable beta-phase of this material. Here, we investigate these phenomena starting from metastable alpha-phase and explain radically new trend occurring in the system. We argue that in contrast to that in beta-to-gamma disorder-induced transitions, the O sublattice in alpha-phase exhibits hexagonal close-packed structure, so that to activate alpha-to-gamma transformation significant structural rearrangements are required in both Ga and O sublattices. Moreover, consistent with theoretical predictions, alpha-to-gamma phase transformation requires accumulation of the substantial tensile strain to initiate otherwise impossible lattice glides. Thus, we explain the experimentally observed trends in term of the combination of disorder and strain governed process. Finally, we demonstrate atomically abrupt alpha/gamma interfaces paradoxically self-organized out of the stochastic disorder.

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