A study of twinning in YBa2Cu3O7−x by large-angle convergent-beam electron diffraction
The oxygenation of YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) leads to an orthorhombic distortion of the unit cell to accommodate the extra oxygen atom. This makes the formation of twins energetically favourable with CuO4 planar unit chains running alternately along the a and b axes of the parent tetragonal structure. The geometry of this twinning is such that four possible twin variants may co-exist with the twin boundaries lying in the (110) or (110) planes of the deformed structure. The traces of these planes are not mutually perpendicular and thus the crystal is strained to allow for the mismatch. It is to the nature of this strain field that this work has been addressed.Sintered samples were prepared by crushing and dispersing the resultant powder onto a very fine Cu mesh grid. Single crystals were chemically thinned to perforation. No discernible artefacts were seen and similar results were obtained with either method.