Domain tuning in mixed-phase BiFeO3 thin films using vicinal substrates
  The structural and ferroelectric domain variants of highly-strained BiFeO3 films grown on vicinal LaSrAlO4 substrates were studied by piezoelectric force microscopy and high-resolution X-ray reciprocal space mapping. Through symmetry breaking of the substrate surface, ferroelastic domain variants in the highly-strained MC phase BiFeO3 can be greatly reduced. Single-domain film can be obtained on substrates with large miscut angle, which is accompanied by the reduction of structural variants in the mixed-phase nanodomains. These findings lead to better understanding of the phase evolution and polarization rotation process in the strain-driven morphotropic phase system. 
Lu You, Shintaro Yasui, Xi Zou, Hui Ding, Zuhuang Chen, Weigang Chen,   Lang Chen, Hiroshi Funakubo, Junling Wang
cond-mat.mtrl-sci