Transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to study growth-induced defects in thin-film bicrystals. The atomic force microscopic images clearly revealed evidence of a so-called in-plane waviness of the grain boundary. A quantitative analysis of the high-resolution electron microscopic images unambiguously showed oscillation of the grain boundary plane. This structure and morphology resulted from the island mechanism of film growth.

Growth Induced Grain Boundary Plane Oscillations in YBa2Cu3O7 Thin Film Bicrystals. J.Ayache, A.Thorel, S.J.Kim, J.Lesueur, K.H.Westmacott, U.Dahmen: Materials Science Forum, 1999, 294-296, 119-22