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Abstract: Complex oxides are of intense interest due to their diverse properties, such as colossal magnetoresistance and superconductivity. Their complexity arises not only from the number of constituent elements, but also from their tolerance of non-stoichiometry and the structural complexity of these perovskite-based materials, e.g. the distortions and rotations of the oxygen octahedra surrounding the B-site cation. For these reasons, misfit accommodation in these materials is far more complex than in simpler materials, and can involve several different mechanisms simultaneously. In some cases, interfaces can be free from any misfit dislocations, lattice mismatch being accommodated via incorporation of oxygen vacancies, which take an ordered periodic arrangement. Interfaces may also present a perturbation to the octahedral rotations that can dramatically affect properties, not just close to the interface but through the entire film. In oxygen ion conducting materials, the oxygen sublattice may even melt in some situations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nd0.45Sr0.55MnO3 is an A-type antiferromagnetic manganite showing obvious angular-dependent magnetoresistance, which can be tuned by misfit strain. The misfit strain relaxation of Nd0.45Sr0.55MnO3 thin films is of both fundamental and technical importance. In this paper, microstructures of epitaxial Nd0.45Sr0.55MnO3 thin films grown on SrTiO3 (110) substrates by pulsed laser deposition were investigated by means of (scanning) transmission electron microscopy. The Nd0.45Sr0.55MnO3 thin films exhibit a two-layered structure: a continuous perovskite layer epitaxial grown on the substrate followed by epitaxially grown columnar nanostructures. An approximately periodic array of misfit dislocations is found along the interface with line directions of both〈111〉and [001]. High-resolution (scanning) transmission electron microscopy reveals that all the misfit dislocations possess a〈110〉-type Burgers vectors. A formation mechanism based on gliding or climbing of the dislocations is proposed to elucidate this novel misfit dislocation configuration. These misfit dislocations have complex effects on the strain relaxation and microstructure of the films, and thus their influence needs further consideration for heteroepitaxial perovskite thin film systems, especially for films grown on substrates with low-symmetry surfaces such as SrTiO3 (110) and (111), which are attracting attention for their potentially new functions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]