The pulsed laser deposition technique has been used to deposit, in a l
ayer-by-layer growth mode, superconducting cuprate thin films on (100)
SrTiO3 substrates. The films are deposited using a combination of pul
sed O2 jet and a continuous source of atomic O, with the average backg
round pressure maintained as low as 1 mTorr. This permits the in-situ
monitoring of the growth process using reflection high-energy electron
diffraction (RHEED). Before growth of the cuprate films, a thin SrTiO
3 buffer layer is homoepitaxially deposited on the substrate to provid
e an atomically smooth surface. On a smooth surface, the growth of SrT
iO3 occurs in a layer-by-layer mode as indicated by the intensity osci
llations of the specular spot in the RHEED pattern. Subsequent layer-b
y-layer growth of a variety of cuprate films, including YBa2Cu3O7-delt
a (YBCO), La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 (LSCO), Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4 (NCCO), and SrCuO2
(SCO), has been achieved under appropriate deposition conditions.