A method was suggested for using the atom–vacancy ordering phenomenon to visualize structural vacancies in crystals. Ordered non-stoichiometric titanium monoxide was taken as an example because the structural vacancies in this compound could be observed due to the formation of continuous vacancy channels in certain crystallographic directions. The structural vacancies in a specially oriented sample of ordered titanium monoxide were directly observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy at a magnification of 4 x 106.

Observation of Structural Vacancies. A.A.Valeeva, G.Tang, A.I.Gusev, A.A.Rempel: JETP Letters, 2003, 77[1], 25-9