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Title: Coexistence of epitaxial lattice rotation and twinning tilt induced by surface symmetry mismatch

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4881612· OSTI ID:22300076
 [1];  [2]
  1. School of Physical Electronics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China)
  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996 (United States)

Combined x-ray diffraction and first-principles studies of various epitaxial rutile-type metal dioxide films on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001) substrates reveal an unexpected rectangle-on-parallelogram heteroepitaxy. Unique matching of particular lattice spacings and crystal angles between the oxygen sublattices of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001) and the film(100) result in coexisted crystal rotation and lattice twinning inside the film. We demonstrate that, besides symmetry and lattice mismatch, angular mismatch along a specific crystal direction is also an important factor determining epitaxy. A generalized theorem has been proposed to explain epitaxial behaviors for tetragonal metal dioxides on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001).

OSTI ID:
22300076
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 104, Issue 22; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English