Epitaxial growth and properties of thin film oxides

Oxide film growth by molecular beam epitaxy for the purpose of preparing me tal oxides for surface science studies is discussed and reviewed. Critical issues such as the choice of oxidizing gas, the selection of substrates, cr ystal symmetry and lattice match, interface chemistry, and the relationship of these issues to the materials science of oxide-on-metal and oxide-on-ox ide film growth are discussed. Recent work on the growth of select, represe ntative oxides that span the ranges of crystal structure, metal oxidation s tate, and stoichiometry is reviewed and used to illustrate the basic materi als science. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.