Quantification and Mapping of Elastic Strains Ferroelectric BaZrO3/BaTiO3 Superlattices

TL;DR

This study employs advanced electron microscopy techniques to quantify and map elastic strains in BaZrO3/BaTiO3 superlattices at atomic scale, revealing interfacial interdiffusion and strain variations crucial for their functional properties.

Contribution

It introduces a novel methodology combining high-resolution microscopy and diffraction analysis for atomic-scale strain mapping in complex oxide superlattices.

Findings

Elastic strains mapped at 2 nm resolution.

Inter-diffusion interface widths estimated between 8-12%.

Strain variations linked to interfacial intermixing.

Abstract

We report on quantification and elastic strain mapping in two artificial BaZrO3/BaTiO3 (BZ/BT) superlattices having periods of 6.6 nm and 11 nm respectively, grown on (001) SrTiO3 single crystal substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique. The methodology consists of a combination of high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy and nanobeam electron diffraction associated with dedicated algorithm for diffraction patterns processing originally developed for semiconductors to record the strains at atomic scale. Both in-plane and out-of-plane elastic strains were then determined at 2 nm spatial resolution and their average values were used to map the strains along and transverse to the epitaxial growth direction of both samples to determine its variation along several BZ/BT interfaces. In addition, the variation of the width of the inter-diffusion BT/BZ interfaces and intermixing between different layers are estimated. The obtained width average value measured in these inter-diffusion interfaces vary from 8 to 12% and from 9 to 11% for both superlattices having period of 6.6 nm and 11 nm respectively. These inter-diffusion interfaces and the inherent elastic strains due to the confined layers of the superlattices are known to be the most important parameters, responsible of the change in their functional properties.