It was recalled that applying a temperature gradient during the chemical vapor deposition of thin films had the effect of producing chains of grains, which were oriented in the same direction, at chosen positions in the film. Interconnected grains, which were oriented in the <110> direction and were separated by twin grain boundaries, formed chains along contours of equal temperature as a result of the interaction between defect migration and crystal growth. When the temperature gradient was small, low-angle tilt boundaries, low-energy coincidence-site boundaries, and twin boundaries were observed. All of the boundaries were coherent twin boundaries when a steep temperature gradient was applied.

Engineering Individual Grain Boundaries using a Zone-Confining Process in Chemical Vapor Deposited Cu Films I.A.Rauf, P.N.Gadgil, R.F.Egerton, J.D.Boyd, M.Sayer: Applied Physics Letters, 1997, 71[16], 2256-8