Structure of epitaxial thin oxide films investigated in situ by x-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation

Combining Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GIXRD) and X-Ray Reflectivity (XRR)  allows to solve the structure of crystal surfaces and epitaxial ultrathin films, and to investigate thin films growth. After a general introduction to the technique, I will show some studies of oxide films. The first example concerns the growth mode and the structure of an ultrathin MgO film on Ag(001). MgO ultrathin films are employed as decoupling layers between metallic substrates and electronic states of molecules or atoms deposited on top. In the following I will discuss the growth of CuO and TiO₂-anatase films on SrTiO₃(001), both obtained through a post-deposition annealing in oxygen. These films are investigated for their multiferroic and catalytic properties, respectively. The measurements I will show were performed on the French BM32 beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF).