Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
TiO2 thin films grown on (1120) sapphire at 800°C by the MOCVD technique have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy. The TiO2 thin films are single crystalline and have the rutile structure. The epitaxial orientation relationship between the TiO2 thin films (R) and the substrate (S) has been foundto be: (101)[010]R║(1l20)[0001]s. Growth twins in the films are commonly observed with the twin plane{101} and twinning direction <011>. Detailed atomic structures of the twin boundaries and TiO2/α-Al203 interfaces have been investigated by highresolution electron microscopy (HREM).When the interfaces are viewed in the direction of [010]R/[000l]S, the interfaces are found to be structurally coherent in the direction of [1Ol]R/[1100]s,in which the lattice mismatch at the interfaces is about 0.5%.