title: Highly aligned epitaxial nanorods with a checkerboard pattern in oxide films.
abstract: One of the central challenges of nanoscience is fabrication of nanoscale structures with well-controlled architectures using planar thin-film technology. Herein, we report that ordered nanocheckerboards in ZnMnGaO4 films were grown epitaxially on single-crystal MgO substrates by utilizing a solid-state method of the phase separation-induced self-assembly. The films consist of two types of chemically distinct and regularly spaced nanorods with mutually coherent interfaces, approximately 4 x 4 x 750 nm3 in size and perfectly aligned along the film growth direction. Surprisingly, a significant in-plane strain, more than 2%, from the substrate is globally maintained over the entire film thickness of about 820 nm. The strain energy from Jahn-Teller distortions and the film-substrate lattice mismatch induce the coherent three-dimensional (3D) self-assembled nanostructure, relieving the volume strain energy while suppressing the formation of dislocations.
authors.affiliation: Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA. floura@physics.rutgers.edu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Horibe
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asada
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Wielunski
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Bonanno
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: O'Malley
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sirenko
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kazimirov
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanimura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.forename: S-W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Cheong
mesh_terms: D016880:Anisotropy; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D010087:Oxides