Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
The phenomenon of graphoepitaxy, whereby island nucleation occurs preferentially at steps, is a prime example of a manner in which the substrate morphology (and notably surface steps) can affect the microstructure of as-deposited thin-films. This paper provides a further illustration of the fundamental importance of the substrate morphology to the development of the thin-film microstructure, employing the example of TiO2 deposited by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) directly onto specially prepared (100) MgO TEM foils. The same areas of these foils are imaged both before and after deposition.