AbstractThe epitaxial growth of gold on (0001) surfaces of cadmium iodide is studied by transmission electron microscopy. A method for the preparation of suitable substrates is given. Dark field studies of different stages of film growth show that the deposit nucleates with a particular orientation, and during further growth this orientation changes by 30°. The diffraction pattern contains many extra twin and double diffraction spots which arise from twins and double position boundaries introduced during island coalescence.