Oxygen octahedral rotations have been measured in short-period (LaNiO$_3$)$_n$/(SrMnO$_3$)$_m$ superlattices using synchrotron diffraction. The in-plane and out-of-plane bond angles and lengths are found to systematically vary with superlattice compo
sition. Rotations are suppressed in structures with $m>n$, producing a nearly cubic form of LaNiO$_3$. Large rotations are present in structures with $m<n$, leading to reduced bond angles in SrMnO$_3$. The metal-oxygen-metal bond lengths decrease as rotations are reduced, in contrast to behavior previously observed in strained, single layer films. This result demonstrates that superlattice structures can be used to stabilize non-equilibrium octahedral behavior in a manner distinct from epitaxial strain, providing a novel means to engineer the electronic and ferroic properties of oxide heterostructures.
Epitaxial strain is a proven route to enhancing the properties of complex oxides, however, the details of how the atomic structure accommodates strain are poorly understood due to the difficulty of measuring the oxygen positions in thin films. We pre
sent a general methodology for determining the atomic structure of strained oxide films via x-ray diffraction, which we demonstrate using LaNiO3 films. The oxygen octahedral rotations and distortions have been quantified by comparing the intensities of half-order Bragg peaks, arising from the two unit cell periodicity of the octahedral rotations, with the calculated structure factor. Combining ab initio density functional calculations with these experimental results, we determine systematically how strain modifies the atomic structure of this functional oxide.
