Epitaxial growth defects and interfacial structures of Cu deposited on TiO2

Epitaxial growth defects and the interfacial structure between vapor deposited Cu and TiO₂(110) have been studied by combined high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) and image simulations. The Cu film was found to grow epitaxially with an orientation given by Cu(111)//TiO₂(110) and Cu110//TiO₂ 001]. With this relationship, there exist two equivalent domain orientations which are rotated with respect to each other by 180°. Localized misfit dislocations have not been detected, but {111} stacking faults and microtwins were observed which may occur as a result of 3-D island coalescence. HREM observations and image simulations have been used to study the interface atomic structure. The dominant interfacial structure has a stoichiometric (110) TiO₂ surface with bridging rows of O atoms and occasionally, an interfacial structure having a reduced (110) TiO₂ surface terminated by both Ti and O atoms has been observed locally.