Structure and interface chemistry of perovskite-spinel nanocomposite thin films

The structure and the interface chemistry of epitaxial BiFe O3 -Ni Fe2 O4 nanocomposite thin films on SrTi O3 (001) substrates were investigated using the Z -contrast imaging and the electron exit-wave reconstruction methods at the atomic scale. The results show that the Ni Fe2 O4 pillars are nonwetting with respect to the substrate and exhibit 111 facets at the surface. The interface between BiFe O3 and Ni Fe2 O4 lies in the 110 planes and is semicoherent. The atomic configuration of the interface, with the BiFeO layer bonding to the [Ni,Fe] O2 layer, was shown to have the maximized structure continuity and minimized interface charging. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.