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Complex‐oxide superlattices provide a pathway to numerous emergent phenomena because of the juxtaposition of disparate properties and the strong interfacial interactions in these unit‐cell‐precise structures. This is particularly true in superlattices of ferroelectric and dielectric materials, wherein new forms of ferroelectricity, exotic dipolar textures, and distinctive domain structures can be produced. Here, relaxor‐like behavior, typically associated with the chemical inhomogeneity and complexity of solid solutions, is observed in (BaTiO₃)_n/(SrTiO₃)_n(n= 4–20 unit cells) superlattices. Dielectric studies and subsequent Vogel–Fulcher analysis show significant frequency dispersion of the dielectric maximum across a range of periodicities, with enhanced dielectric constant and more robust relaxor behavior for smaller periodn. Bond‐valence molecular‐dynamics simulations predict the relaxor‐like behavior observed experimentally, and interpretations of the polar patterns via 2D discrete‐wavelet transforms in shorter‐period superlattices suggest that the relaxor behavior arises from shape variations of the dipolar configurations, in contrast to frozen antipolar stripe domains in longer‐period superlattices (n= 16). Moreover, the size and shape of the dipolar configurations are tuned by superlattice periodicity, thus providing a definitive design strategy to use superlattice layering to create relaxor‐like behavior which may expand the ability to control desired properties in these complex systems.

 

Silica nanosprings (NS) were coated with gallium nitride (GaN) by high-temperature atomic layer deposition. The deposition temperature was 800 °C using trimethylgallium (TMG) as the Ga source and ammonia (NH3) as the reactive nitrogen source. The growth of GaN on silica nanosprings was compared with deposition of GaN thin films to elucidate the growth properties. The effects of buffer layers of aluminum nitride (AlN) and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) on the stoichiometry, chemical bonding, and morphology of GaN thin films were determined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Scanning and transmission electron microscopy of coated silica nanosprings were compared with corresponding data for the GaN thin films. As grown, GaN on NS is conformal and amorphous. Upon introducing buffer layers of Al2O3 or AlN or combinations thereof, GaN is nanocrystalline with an average crystallite size of 11.5 ± 0.5 nm. The electrical properties of the GaN coated NS depends on whether or not a buffer layer is present and the choice of the buffer layer. In addition, the IV curves of GaN coated NS and the thin films (TF) with corresponding buffer layers, or lack thereof, show similar characteristic features, which supports the conclusion that atomic layer deposition (ALD) of GaN thin films with and without buffer layers translates to 1D nanostructures.