Microstructural investigation of BaTiO₃thin films deposited on (001) MgO

The microstructure of BaTiO₃thin films, epitaxially deposited on (001) MgO by pulsed laser ablation, has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The films are always c-axis-orientated, but dislocations, {111} stacking faults, and antiphase boundaries are frequently observed. Conventional TEM and high-resolution microscopy allow one to deduce the Burgers vectors of dislocations as b₁= 〈100〉 or b₂= 〈110〉, both being perfect dislocations. Most extrinsic stacking faults are ending at 1/3〈112〉 or 1/3〈111〉 partial dislocations; the displacement vector of the antiphase boundaries is 1/2〈101〉. Studying the interfacial structure by means of zone images taken along [100] and [110] shows that the misfit is mainly released by dislocations with Burgers vectors of 1/2〈110〉 and 1/2〈101〉.