Epitaxial growth of rutile thin films on titanium carbide single crystals

Thin single crystal flakes of rutile (titanium dioxide) have been grown epitaxially on the {100} faces of titanium carbide crystals by oxidation. Electron diffraction patterns show that the orientation relationship of the epitaxial growth is given by:(110)TiO2 , | (100)Tic with [001]TiO2 | [010]TiC. Transmission electron microscopy of the single crystal flakes shows evidence of contrast from dislocations which takes the form of small-angle boundaries, partial dislocations and stacking faults. The results are discussed in terms of the macroscopic plastic behaviour of TiO2 and TiC.