Electron-beam-induced 3-D epitaxy Of TiO on TiO2

Abstract

It is well-known that the surfaces of maximally-valent transition-metal oxides should be particularly susceptible to electron-stimulated desorption of oxygen under the conditions prevailing in high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). Indeed, it has been observed that lattice fringes corresponding to TiO have developed on the surfaces of crystals of rutile, TiO2. Fig. 1a shows the modified surface of a rutile crystal tilted to (001)-projection with extensive regions of disorder and small crystallites of reduced (metallic) oxide at the edge; fig. 1b shows TiO2 in a [010]-projection with crystals of TiO in -projection. By combining the techniques of high-resolution imaging, optical diffractogram (ODM) analysis, and computer modeling of crystal structure, a three-dimensional epitaxy for the growth of TiO on TiO2 can be proposed.