The Structural Analysis Possibilities of Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction

Abstract

The epitaxial growth of complex oxide thin films provide three avenues to generate unique properties: the ability to influence the 3-dimensional structure of the film, the presence of a surface, and the generation of an interface. In all three cases, a clear understanding of the resulting atomic structure is desirable. However, determining the full structure of an epitaxial thin film (lattice parameters, space group, atomic positions, surface reconstructions) on a routine basis is a serious challenge. In this paper we highlight the remarkable information that can be extracted from both the Bragg scattering and inelastic multiple scattering events that occur during Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction. We review some methods to extract structural information and show how mature techniques used in other fields can be directly applied to the {\em in-situ} and real-time diffraction images of a growing film. These collection of techniques give access to both the epitaxially influenced 3 dimensional bulk structure of the film, and any reconstructions that may happen at the surface.