Effect of growth mechanisms on the deformation of a unit cell and polarization reversal in barium–strontium titanate heterostructures on magnesium oxide

The effect of a growth mechanism on the unit cell strain and the related change in the properties of single-crystal Ba$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$TiO$_{3}$ films grown on MgO substrates according to the Frank–van der Merwe and Volmer–Weber growth mechanisms is studied. The unit cell strain is shown to depend substantially on the film thickness and the growth mechanism. It is found that the same film–substrate pair can be used to vary stresses in the film from two-dimensional tensile to compressive stresses due to a change in the growth mechanism and the film thickness.