An extended synchrotron X-ray scattering study was made of the structure of thin manganite films grown onto SrTiO3(001) substrates. This revealed a new kind of misfit strain relaxation process which exploited twinning in order to adjust lattice mismatch. It was shown that this relaxation mechanism emerged in thin films as 1-dimensional twinning waves which froze into a twin-domain pattern as the manganite film continued to grow. A quantitative microscopic model which used a matrix formalism was able to reproduce all of the X-ray features, and provided a detailed insight into this novel relaxation mechanism. It was also demonstrated how this twin angle pattern affected the transport properties in the films.

Formation and Thickness Evolution of Periodic Twin Domains in Manganite Films Grown on SrTiO3(001) Substrates. U.Gebhardt, N.V.Kasper, A.Vigliante, P.Wochner, H.Dosch, F.S.Razavi, H.U.Habermeier: Physical Review Letters, 2007, 98[9], 096101 (3pp)