We perform in situ synchrotron x-ray ray diffraction (SXRD)/reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) studies on the growth of complex oxide thin films by molecular beam epitaxy. The unique deposition chamber, located at the Advanced Photon Source, allows the preparation of complex oxide samples with monolayer precision and facilitates the formation of direct correlations between in situ x-ray studies and the more prevalent RHEED investigations. Importantly, because SXRD and RHEED probe different atomic-scale processes during thin film synthesis, their concomitant use enables the extraction of details concerning growth behavior that one cannot determine from either probe alone. We describe the results of such in situ studies on the epitaxial growth of perovskite LaNiO3 on (La0.18Sr0.82)(Al0.59Ta0.41)O3 (001). We find that during the earliest stages of growth, the RHEED and x-ray signals do not agree with each other, demonstrating that while regular RHEED oscillations may imply high quality growth, the film–substrate interface can undergo significant changes during deposition due to the occurrence of interdiffusion at the growth temperature.

中文翻译：

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氧化物分子束外延生长的原位 X 射线和电子散射研究

我们通过分子束外延对复合氧化物薄膜的生长进行原位同步加速器 X 射线衍射 (SXRD)/反射高能电子衍射 (RHEED) 研究。位于 Advanced Photon Source 的独特沉积室可以制备具有单层精度的复杂氧化物样品，并有助于在原位 X 射线研究和更普遍的 RHEED 研究之间形成直接关联。重要的是，由于 SXRD 和 RHEED 在薄膜合成过程中探测不同的原子尺度过程，因此它们的伴随使用能够提取关于生长行为的细节，而这些细节无法单独从任一探针中确定。我们描述了钙钛矿 LaNiO3 在 (La0.18Sr0.82)(Al0.59Ta0.41)O3 (001) 上外延生长的原位研究结果。