Unusual lattice distortion in a Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 thin film on a LaAlO3 substrate

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of a perovskite Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 thin film, grown on a (001) LaAlO3 substrate by pulsed-laser ablation, reveals that the film of single-crystal quality has an unusually distorted lattice with lattice parameters a and b (parallel to the interface) larger than c (perpendicular to the interface) by 1.4%. There is evidence that the as-examined Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 film is a variant of its high-temperature cubic phase due to its anisotropic thermal contraction during cooling. A large lattice mismatch value of 5.7% (to be compared to the normal value of 4.13%) is observed from selected area electron diffraction patterns and high-resolution TEM images of cross-sectional specimens, which suggests that the growing high-temperature film under the film growth condition may have a larger lattice constant and a different thermal expansion behavior with respect to the bulk material.