A HREM study of the interfaces between TiO2 precipitates and the Al2O3 matrix in star sapphire

Abstract

The asterism, or star effect, present in star sapphire (Ti-doped A12O3) single crystals is known to arise from the needle-like rutile(r) (TiO2) precipitates in the sapphire(s) matrix. The specific orientation relationship between the precipitates and the matrix is {100}r//{0003}s and <011>r//<1010>s . In this work we report a HREM study of the rutile/sapphire interface.The cross-section perpendicular to the needle axis of a very small precipitate, which is coherent, or has just one misfit dislocation at its interface, is a rhombus; the precipitate/matrix interface (habit plane) is {111}r{1123}s. As the coherency break down and misfit dislocations are introduced into the interface, the shape of the cross-section becomes nearly square; the two orthogonal interfaces are {100}r//0003}s and {011}r//{1120}s. Larger precipitates show rectangular interfaces elongated along the {100}r//{0003}s interface (Fig.l). A regular array of misfit dislocations with Burger vector b = 1/3<0001>S are present at the {011}r//{1120}s interface, the mean distance between every two adjacent 1/3<0001>S misfit dislocations being 8.7 nm which compensates exactly the 5.9% lattice mismatch estimated from the lattice constants of these two structures. Similarly, a regular array of misfit dislocations with Burgers vector b = 1/3<1010>S at the {100}r//{0003}s interface compensates the 4.5% lattice mismatch at that interface.