ABSTRACT
Epitaxial techniques arrange atoms in singlecrystal fashion on a crystalline substrate that acts as a seed crystal so that the lattice of the newly grown film duplicates that of the substrate. If the film is of the same material as the substrate, the process is called homoepitaxy, epitaxy, or simply epi. Epi deposition represents one of the cornerstone techniques for building micromachines, and a separate section reviews progress in epitaxial methods. Epitaxial techniques are usually chemical (CVD) in nature but may also be physical (e.g., MBE is a PVD technique).
