High-resolution transmission electron microscopy of heteroepitaxial barium strontium titanate films grown on MgO substrates

Nanoscale (5–100 nm) ferroelectric heteroepitaxial Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 films on MgO(001) substrates were studied by methods of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy using Tecnai G2 and FEI Titan 80–300 microscopes. Misfit dislocations resulting from stress relaxation in films and insignificant local misorientation of film regions (block structure) were detected. The heterostructure was numerically simulated, which allowed the detection of the formation of oxygen (substrate)-titanium (film) bonds or the oxygen (substrate)-barium (film) bond at the film-substrate interface.