The complete atomic structure of a five-monolayer film of LaAlO3 on SrTiO3 has been determined for the first time by surface x-ray diffraction in conjunction with the coherent Bragg rod analysis phase-retrieval method and further structural refinement. Cationic mixing at the interface results in dilatory distortions and the formation of metallic La(1-x)SrxTiO3. By invoking electrostatic potential minimization, the ratio of Ti{4+}/Ti{3+} across the interface was determined, from which the lattice dilation could be quantitatively explained using ionic radii considerations. The correctness of this model is supported by density functional theory calculations. Thus, the formation of a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas in this system is explained, based on structural considerations.

In order to better understand ferroelectricity in thin films, it is important to explore the atomic-scale structure and the spatial distribution of polarization near the interfaces. We present sub-Ångstrom-resolution electron density maps of three ultrathin PbTiO 3 films grown epitaxially on SrTiO 3 ͑001͒ substrates. The maps were obtained by analysis of synchrotron x-ray scattering measurements of Bragg rod intensities using the recently developed coherent Bragg rod analysis method. A four-and a nine-unit-cell-thick film were studied at room temperature, and a nine-unit-cell-thick film was studied at 181°C. The results show that at room temperature, the PbTiO 3 films are polar, monodomain, and have their polarization oriented away from the substrate. The four-unit-cell film may be the thinnest monodomain perovskite film found to be in the polar phase. At 181°C, the electron density map of the nine-unit-cell film is consistent with the presence of 180°stripe domains. In the monodomain samples, details of the atomic-scale structure of the PbTiO 3 / SrTiO 3 interface are observed, which may provide evidence for the nature of the positive charge layer required to stabilize polarization in monodomain films.

We introduce a new technique for probing the microscopic relaxation of magneto-viscoelastic materials consisting of magnetic particles embedded in a natural rubber matrix. Transversely coherent x-rays from a high brilliance synchrotron source are scattered by the magnetic particles, forming a speckle pattern at low scattering angles. The time dependence of this pattern is recorded with a CCD area detector while the sample is cyclically perturbed by a reversal of the magnetic field direction. The corresponding time-resolved scattering pattern probes both the dynamics of the particles and the relaxation of the matrix in which they are embedded. X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) reveals characteristic time scales for this relaxation by applying the intensity auto-correlation function to the time dependent speckle pattern. For low angle scattering, the wave vector dependence of the relaxation rate exhibits power law length scaling.

We present here an experimental, strictly one-dimensional rotational system, made by using single magnetic Janus particles in a static magnetic field. These particles were half-coated with a thin metallic film, and by turning on a properly oriented external static magnetic field, we monitor the rotational brownian motion of single particles, in solution, around the desired axis. Bright-field microscopy imaging provides information on the particle orientation as a function of time. Rotational diffusion coefficients are derived for one-dimensional rotational diffusion, both for a single rotating particle and for a cluster of four such particles. Over the studied time domain, up to 10 s, the variation of the angle of rotation is strictly brownian; its probability distribution function is gaussian, and the mean squared angular displacement is linear in time, as expected for free diffusion. Values for the rotational diffusion coefficients were also determined. Monte Carlo and hydrodynamic simulations agree well with the experimental results.

The resonant response of the complex x-ray scattering factor has been used in conjunction with the coherent Bragg rod analysis phase-retrieval algorithm to determine the composition and strain profiles of ultrathin layers of GaAs grown on InGaAs buffers. The buffer layers are nominally latticed matched with the InP substrate and the subsequent GaAs growth is compared at two different temperatures: 480 and 520°C. We show that electron density maps extracted from Bragg rod scans measured close to the Ga and As K-edges can be used to deconvolute roughness and intermixing. It is found that indium incorporation and roughening lead to a significant reduction of the strain in this system.