title: Epitaxial interfaces between crystallographically mismatched materials.
abstract: We report an unexpected mechanism by which an epitaxial interface can form between materials having strongly mismatched lattice constants. A simple model is proposed in which one material tilts out of the interface plane to create a coincidence-site lattice that balances two competing geometrical criteria--low residual strain and short coincidence-lattice period. We apply this model, along with complementary first-principles total-energy calculations, to the interface formed by molecular-beam epitaxy of cubic Fe on hexagonal GaN and find excellent agreement between theory and experiment.
authors.affiliation: Center for Computational Materials Science, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. 20375, USA.
authors.forename: Steven C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Erwin
authors.forename: Cunxu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roder
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lähnemann
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Brandt