New way of crafting crystals could speed up flexible electronics

To make the ultrathin crystalline films used in everything from solar cells to solid state lasers, materials scientists must use complex, expensive machines to lay them down one atomic layer at a time. These techniques craft films into a single crystal without the breaks or defects that would disrupt their electronic and optical properties. But more often, manufacturers use a cheap technique to spin liquids into smooth films, which harden after they are applied to a surface. These coated films rarely form a single crystal, making them serviceable, but inferior.