  Using oxide substrates for functional ceramic thin film deposition beyond
their usual application as chemical inert, lattice-matched support for the
films represents a novel concept in ceramic thin film research. The substrates
are applied as a functional element in order to controllably modify the atom
arrangement and the growth mode of ceramic prototype materials such as cuprate
superconductors and colossal magnetoresistance manganites. One example is the
use of epitaxial strain to adjust the relative positions of cations and anions
in the film and thus modify their physical properties. The other makes use of
vicinal cut SrTiO3 which enables the fabrication of regular nanoscale step and
terrace structures. In YBa2Cu3O7-x thin films grown on vicinal cut SrTiO3
single crystals a regular array of antiphase boundaries is generated causing an
anisotropic enhancement of flux-line pinning. In the case of La-Ca-Mn-O thin
films grown on vicinal cut substrates it could be demonstrated that magnetic
in-plane anisotropy is achieved.
