Abstract
We review recent results in the study of the growth kinetics in pulsed laser deposition by real-time surface x-ray diffraction. Interlayer transport as the primary driving force behind formation of atomically sharp interfaces is analyzed quantitatively from the measurements of time constants and from shot-to-shot changes in the single laser shot time dependent coverages in the model perovskite SrTiO3. The results show that direct deposition into the open layers and very fast interlayer transport driven by energetic species during the arrival of the laser plume are the main components of layer growth per a laser shot. Diffuse scattering was used to study the role of the island size distribution and island size evolution in moderating interlayer transport. We conclude that interference with fast interlayer transport is the main factor in departure from layer-by-layer growth in both homo- and heteroepitaxy of complex oxides.
