Origin of abnormal structural transformation in a (BiPb)FeO/SrRuO/SrTiO hetero-structure probed by Rutherford backscattering.

Scientific efforts are growing to understand artificial BiFeO/SrRuO/SrTiO-heterostructures, wherein an altered environment at each interface, caused by epitaxial strains, broken symmetry, off-stoichiometry and charge transfer, can generate a rich spectrum of exotic properties. Herein, (BiPb)FeO/SrRuO/SrTiO-heterostructures were sputtered with various top (BiPb)FeO-layers at different growth temperatures (T ). Strain relaxation at each interface changes with T and generates an additional peak alongside with (BiPb)FeO at a high T of 700 °C.