Anomalous hexagonal superstructure of aluminum oxide layer grown on NiAl(110) surface.

A modified method for the fabrication of a highly crystallized layer of aluminum oxide on a NiAl(110) surface is reported. The fabrication method involves the multistep selective oxidation of aluminum atoms on a NiAl(110) surface resulting from successive oxygen deposition and annealing. The surface morphology and local electronic structure of the novel aluminum oxide layer were investigated by high-resolution imaging using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and current imaging tunneling spectroscopy.