ELECTRON-INDUCED DECOMPOSITION OF TIN(IV) SULPHIDE IN ELECTRON MICROSCOPE CONTROLLED BY EPITAXY ON INNER LATTICE PLANES

Electron microscope experiments show that the mechanism of electron- induced decomposition of tin(IV) sulfide differs from that of thermal decomposition. Hexagonal tin(IV) sulfide is converted to tetragonal tin in three equivalent orientations with (100)Sn parallel to (100)SnS2 and (001)Sn parallel to (001SnS2. Experiments on epitaxic growth of tin on tin )IV( sulfide )001( surfaces and theoretical considerations of relative interface energies show that the reaction is controlled by epitaxy and not by a threedimensional relation between the two lattices.