Direct evidence for the suppression of charge stripes in epitaxial   La$_{1.67}$Sr$_{0.33}$NiO$_4$ thin films
  We have successfully grown epitaxial La$_{1.67}$Sr$_{0.33}$NiO$_4$ films with a small crystalline mosaic using pulsed laser deposition. With synchrotron radiation, the x-ray diffraction peaks associated with charge stripes have been successfully observed for relatively thick films. Anomalies due to the charge-ordering transition have been examined using four-point probe resistivity measurements. X-ray scattering provides direct evidence for suppression of the stripe phase in thin samples; the phase disappears for film thicknesses $\leqslant$ 2600 ~\AA{}. The suppression appears to be a result of shrinking the stripe phase domains. This may reflect the stripe phase progressing from nematic to isotropic. 
C. K. Xie, J. I. Budnick, W. A. Hines, B. O. Wells, Feizhou He, and A.   R. Moodenbaugh