Experimental observation of the crystallization of hard-sphere colloidal particles by sedimentation onto flat and patterned surfaces.
We present a confocal microscopy study of 1.55 microm monodisperse silica hard spheres as they sediment and crystallize at the bottom wall of a container. If the particles sediment onto a feature less flat wall, the two bottom layers crystallize simultaneously and layerwise growth follows. If the wall is replaced by a hexagonal template, only layerwise growth occurs. Our results complement earlier numerical simulations and experiments on other colloidal systems.
Ramsteiner
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School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 9 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Jensen
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Weitz
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Spaepen
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