Abstract
Single-crystalline α-Al2O3(0001) surfaces were investigated by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and noncontact-mode atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM). When the α-Al2O3(0001) surface was annealed in air at 1273 K, terraces of ∼80 nm width and steps of ∼0.2 nm height appeared. NC-AFM topography revealed, however, that the terraces were not atomically flat. Several previously reported methods for preparing (1×1) α-Al2O3(0001) surfaces were examined. However, the cleaning procedures used in these methods were not sufficient to prepare atomically flat (1×1) α-Al2O3(0001) surfaces; the surfaces thus prepared exhibited a topography which was much more ragged than that of an as-received surface.
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