Scanning tunnelling microscope studies of growth of RuO2(110) thin layer on Ru(0001)

This paper reports that the growth of RuO2(110) thin layer growth on Ru(0001) has been investigated by means of scanning tunnelling microscope (STM). The STM images showed a domain structure with three rotational domains of RuO2(110) rotated by an angle of 120 degrees. The as-grown RuO2(110) thin layer is expanded from the bulk-truncated RuO2(110) due to the large mismatch between RuO2(110) and the Ru(0001) substrate. The results also indicate that growth of RuO2(110) thin layer on the Ru(0001) substrate by oxidation tends first to formation of the Ru-O (oxygen) chains in the [001] direction of RuO2(110).