Misfit strain induced lattice distortions in heteroepitaxially grown LaxCa1-xMnO3 thin films studied by extended x-ray absorption fine structure and high-resolution x-ray diffraction

• Mn-O and Mn-Mn interatomic distances were determined in LaxCa1-xMnO3 films grown heteroepitaxially on single crystal SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Mn-O bond lengths were found to be fixed at similar to1.975 Angstrom for both types of substrates, while the Mn-Mn distance was detected to be larger for films grown on SrTiO3 substrates than for films grown on LaAlO3. The deviation of Mn-Mn interatomic distances, and subsequently Mn-O-Mn bond angles, in epitaxial LaxCa1-xMnO3 films is attributed to the misfit strain: compressive for LaAlO3 and tensile for SrTiO3 substrates. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

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