Characterization of the annealed (0001) surface of sapphire (alpha-Al2O3) and interaction with silver by reflection electron microscopy and scanning reflection electron microscopy.

Annealed (0001) surfaces of single-crystal sapphire (alpha-Al2O3) rod have been studied in the electron microscope using reflection electron microscopy (REM), scanning reflection electron microscopy (SREM), and reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED). Annealed surfaces of (0001) sapphire are vicinal and characterized by close-packed (0001)-oriented terraces separated by faceted multiple-height steps, with edges parallel to energetically preferred low-index directions (less than 1010 greater than and less than 1120 greater than). These structural features are not seen on cleaved surfaces or polished surfaces treated at temperatures less than 1,250 degrees C. Oxygen-annealing produces clean surfaces which prove useful for investigating the interaction of deposited metals with the (0001) sapphire. Both REM and SREM (with microdiffraction spots) techniques have been used to observe fine structure of flat Ag islands on the scale of 1-100 nm on the (0001)-oriented terraces as well as aggregations at the steps. A preliminary result on interaction with Cu is also included.