Thermal expansion of the new perovskite substrates DySCO3 and GdSCO3

The thermal expansion coefficients of DyScO3 and GdScO3 were determined from 298 to 1273 K using x-ray diffraction. The average thermal expansion coefficients of DyScO3 and GdScO3 were 8.4 and 10.9 ppm/K, respectively. No phase transitions were detected over this range, though the orthorhombicity decreased with increasing temperature. These thermal expansion coefficients are similar to other oxide perovskites (e.g., BaTiO3 or SrTiO3), making these rare-earth scandates promising substrates for the growth of epitaxial thin films of many oxide perovskites that have similar lattice spacing and thermal expansion coefficients.