Epitaxial checkerboard arrangement of nanorods in ZnMnGaO4 films studied by x-ray diffraction

The intriguing structural properties of a ZnMnGaO4 film epitaxially grown on MgO 001 substrate have been investigated using synchrotron-radiation-based x-ray diffraction. The ZnMnGaO4 film consisted of a self-assembled checkerboard CB structure with highly aligned and regularly spaced vertical nanorods. The lattice parameters of the orthorhombic and rotated tetragonal phases of the CB structure were analyzed by measuring H-K, H-L, and K-L cross-sectional reciprocal space maps. We demonstrate that symmetry of lattice distortions at the phase boundaries provides means for the coherent coexistence of two domain types within the film volume.