Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Thin Nb films were grown by MBE in a UHV chamber at two different temperatures (50°C and 950°C) on the (110) surface of TiO2 (rutile).
At a growth temperature of 50°C, reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) revealed epitaxial growth of Nb on rutile: (110)[001] TiO2 ¦¦ (100)[001] Nb. In addition, investigations with Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) revealed that a chemical reaction took place between the Nb overlayer and the TiO2 substrate at the initial growth stage. A 2 nm thick reaction layer at the Nb/TiO2 interface has been identified by means of conventional transmission electron microscopy (CTEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM).
At a substrate temperature of 950°C, during growth, the Nb film was oxidized completely, and NbO2 grew epitaxially on TiO2. The structure and the chemical composition of the overlayers have been investigated by RHEED, AES, CTEM and HRTEM. Furthermore, it was determined that the reaction of Nb with TiO2 is governed by the defect structure of the TiO2 and the relative oxygen affinities of Nb and TiO2.