Strain-induced interface reconstruction in epitaxial heterostructures

TL;DR

This paper uses Landau theory to analyze how strain fields distort at the interface of two different ferroelastic oxides undergoing a phase transition, revealing compression that could influence electronic properties.

Contribution

It provides analytical solutions for strain distortions at heterostructure interfaces, enhancing understanding of strain effects in ferroelastic oxide interfaces.

Findings

Dilatational strain shows compression near the interface.

Analytical solutions are valid across the entire heterostructure.

Strain distortions may impact electronic properties.

Abstract

We investigate in the framework of Landau theory the distortion of the strain fields at the interface of two dissimilar ferroelastic oxides that undergo a structural cubic-to-tetragonal phase transition. Simple analytical solutions are derived for the dilatational and the order parameter strains that are globally valid over the whole of the heterostructure. The solutions reveal that the dilatational strain exhibits compression close to the interface which may in turn affect the electronic properties in that region.