Molybdenum thin-film growth on rutile titanium dioxide ()

Molybdenum films were deposited at room temperature on rutile TiO2(1 1 0) surfaces having different stoichiometries, surface roughnesses and crystallinities. The film structures and compositions and the substrate–film interfaces were investigated by X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Different substrate pretreatments resulted in markedly different film and interface structures. Under the growth conditions studied, no amorphous molybdenum oxide interlayers were formed upon deposition in contrast to previous studies. Preferred (1 1 0) textured Mo films grew on both air-annealed and oxygen-bombarded substrates. While sh…