  The microstructural evolution throughout the first order tetragonal to
orthorhombic structural transition is analyzed by powder diffraction analysis
for two different systems belonging to the class of compounds referred to as
1111 oxy-pnictides: (La1-yYy)FeAsO and SmFeAs(O1-xFx). Both systems are
characterized by a similar behaviour: on cooling microstrain along the
tetragonal hh0 direction takes place and increases as the temperature is
decreased. Just above the structural transition microstrain reaches its maximum
value and then is abruptly suppressed by symmetry breaking. No volume
discontinuity throughout the first order transition is observed and a
groupsubgroup relationship holds between the tetragonal and the orthorhombic
structures, thus suggesting that orbital ordering drives symmetry breaking.
Microstrain reflects a distribution of lattice parameters in the tetragonal
phase and explains the occurrence of anisotropic properties commonly attributed
to nematic correlations; in this scenario the nematic behaviour is induced by
the tendency towards ordering of Fe orbitals.
