Effects of stress relaxation of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin film on microstructures

We report the effect of lattice stress relaxation on the microstructures of epitaxial thin films by domain structure studies of epitaxial SrRuO3 thin films grown on vicinal (001) SrTiO3 substrates. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the as-grown films are single domain and have a strained lattice due to the lattice mismatch with the substrate. In contrast, plan-view transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images obtained from the same films showed the coexistence of domains with three different crystallographic orientations. The discrepancy is attributed to the lattice stress relaxation occurring on the TEM specimens as the substrate material is eliminated by ion milling or etching, resulting in the formation of elastic domains with different crystallographic orientations. These studies directly reveal a crucial effect of the lattice strain relaxation on the microstructures and properties of epitaxial thin films when the substrate material is removed.

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