Growth and structure of MBE grown TiO2 anatase films with rutile nano-crystallites

Abstract We have explored the systematics of TiO 2 polymorph nucleation during film growth by molecular beam epitaxy on perovskite substrates. The accidental lattice match between anatase (0 0 1) and LaAlO 3 (0 0 1) or SrTiO 3 (0 0 1) typically results in anatase nucleation at the interface. However, the growth conditions dictate whether or not rutile also nucleates, and the associated morphological and structural properties of the composite film. Four symmetry equivalent epitaxial orientations of rutile on anatase are observed when rutile nucleates as discrete particles on LaAlO 3 (0 0 1). Such films constitute model systems for studying the anatase/rutile interface, which is of considerable current interest in photochemistry.