Abstract
Epitaxial BiScO3 thin films were grown on BiFeO3 � buffered SrTiO3 substrates. The crystallinity of the films is reasonable, given the very large lattice mismatch, with full width at half maximum of 0.58� in  peak), 0.80� in  (222 peak) and 0.28� in . It was found that the epitaxial thin films of BiScO3 on SrTiO3 retain the principal structural features of bulk BiScO3 (i.e. octahedral tilting and the pattern of Bi displacements) that give rise to a pseudo-orthorhombic unit cell 22ac�2ac�4ac (ac≈4 � refers to the lattice parameter of an ideal cubic perovskite). Films grown on (100) substrates adopt the bulk monoclinic structure whereas films on the (110) substrates exhibit a somewhat different symmetry. The dielectric permittivities were modest (~35) with low loss tangents; no maxima were observed over the temperature range of -200 and +350�C. There is no evidence of significant hysteresis (either ferroelectric or antiferroelectric) at room temperature up to the breakdown strength of the films.