NEWS AND VIEWS

21 October 2026

A 3D-printing method has made single crystals of metals and alloys in complex shapes and up to one metre in length, as needed for advanced technological applications.

By

Gregory S. Rohrer Gregory S. Rohrer is in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.

The dazzling gemstones used in jewellery are single crystals of minerals, prized for their beauty and uniformity. Single crystals of materials also have crucial functions in silicon microprocessors and jet-engine turbines. However, technological applications have been limited because such crystals are rare in nature and are difficult or expensive to make for most synthetic materials. The breakthrough reported in Nature by Liu et al .…