Misfit dislocations at metal/oxide interfaces were studied by means of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. By observing misfit dislocations, the bonding across the interface could be deduced. This was done for a parallel Cu/MgO{111} interface, and for tilted interfaces in Pd/ZnO and Ag/ZnO. The strain fields which were introduced by the misfit dislocation network could be seen from the Cu/MgO micrographs. The tilted ZnO interfaces showed how various materials adapted to the situation. Strain fields that were caused by the localized misfit dislocations at Cu/MgO interfaces could be observed along 2 directions; but not always immediately. Tilted interfaces in Pd/ZnO were compensated by the ZnO crystal, unlike the case of Ag/ZnO where the Ag adapted to the tilted interfaces. Small tilts in Ag/ZnO were relieved by the emission of Shockley partials which could act as a measure of the interaction at the interface. No relaxation of Pd in Pd/ZnO could be seen, but this did not confirm that the interfaces were incoherent since the strains caused by misfit and interaction were sometimes hard to observe.

High-Resolution Electron Microscopy of Misfit Dislocations at Metal/Oxide Interfaces. H.B.Groen, B.J.Kooi, W.P.Vellinga, J.T.M.De Hosson: Materials Science Forum, 1999, 294-296, 107-10