Vicinal Growth as a Possible Structural Source of the Nematic Superconductivity in Sr x Bi 2 Se 3

The structure of the layered SrxBi2Se3 crystals characterized by the nematic superconductivity has been studied. It is shown that the higher the degree of the superconducting and structural nematicity, the stronger the deviation of the block boundary orientation from the crystal c axis. This indicates that the block grows at an angle to the basal planes, rather than along them. This growth can result in the formation of the preferred direction in a system.