Abstract
We report on the unusual nanoscale kinetics of the layer-by-layer deposition of complex oxide heterostructures composed of a unit-cell thick correlated metal
LaNiO
3
and dielectric
LaAlO
3
. The ultrathin multilayers demonstrate extremely good crystallinity and surface morphology maintained over the large number of layers, as confirmed by combination of AFM, RHEED, and synchrotron x-ray diffraction. To elucidate the physics behind the growth, the temperature of the substrate and the deposition rate are varied over a wide range and the results are treated in the framework of a two-layer model. The results demonstrate that, in addition to temperature and vapor supersaturation, modulated flux can be employed as a powerful kinetic handle for the fine-tuned manipulation of sub-monolayer growth regimes of multicomponent materials.