Imprinted atomic displacements drive spin-orbital order in a vanadate perovskite

Perovskites with the generic composition ABO$_3$ exhibit an enormous variety of quantum states such as magnetism, orbital order, ferroelectricity and superconductivity. Their flexible and comparatively simple structure allows for facile chemical substitution and cube-on-cube combination of different compounds in atomically sharp epitaxial heterostructures. However, already in the bulk, the diverse physical properties of perovskites and their anisotropy are determined by small deviations from the ideal perovskite structure, which are difficult to control. Here we show that directional imprinting of atomic displacements in the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator YVO$_3$ is achieved by depositing epitaxial films on different facets of an isostructural substrate. These facets were chosen such that other control parameters, including strain and polarity mismatch with the overlayer, remain unchanged. We use polarized Raman scattering and spectral ellipsometry to detect signatures of staggered orbital and magnetic order, and demonstrate distinct spin-orbital ordering patterns on different facets. These observations can be attributed to the influence of specific octahedral rotation and cation displacement patterns, which are imprinted by the substrate facet, on the covalency of the bonds and the superexchange interactions in YVO$_3$. Well beyond established strain-engineering strategies, our results show that substrate-induced templating of lattice distortion patterns constitutes a powerful pathway for materials design.