ABSTRACTReal-time, in-situ surface monitoring by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) has been the key enabling component of atomic-layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy (ALL-MBE) of complex oxides. RHEED patterns contain information on crystallographic arrangements and long range order on the surface; this can be made quantitative with help of numerical simulations. The dynamics of RHEED patterns and intensities reveal a variety of phenomena such as nucleation and dissolution of secondary-phase precipitates, switching between growth modes (layer-by-layer, step-flow), surface phase transitions (surface reconstruction, roughening, and even phase transitions induced by the electron beam itself), etc. Some of these phenomena are illustrated here, using as a case study our recent growth of atomically smooth a-axis oriented DyBa2Cu3O7 films.
Phase Transitions in a Perovskite Thin Film Studied by Environmental In Situ Heating Nano‐Beam Electron Diffraction (Small Methods 9/2021)