High-quality single crystalline NiO with twin phases grown on sapphire substrate by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

High-quality single crystalline twin phase NiO grown on sapphire substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy is reported. X-ray rocking curve analysis of NiO films grown at different temperatures indicates a minimum full width at half maximum of the cubic (111) diffraction peak of 0.107° for NiO film grown at as low as 550 °C. Detailed microstructural analysis by Φ scan X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy reveal that the NiO film consists of large single crystalline domains with two different crystallographic orientations which are rotated relative to each other along the [111] axis by 60°. These single crystal domains are divided by the twin phase boundaries.