Oxidation kinetics in La0.67Ba0.33MnO3−δ epitaxy on SrTiO3 (001) during pulsed-laser deposition

Using an oblique-incidence optical reflectance difference technique, we study the kinetics of ${\mathrm{La}}_{\mathrm{0.67}}{\mathrm{Ba}}_{\mathrm{0.33}}{\mathrm{MnO}}_{\mathrm{3-\delta }}$ (LBMO) epitaxy on ${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{\mathrm{3}}\text{(001)}$ during pulsed-laser deposition. By monitoring the recovery of the optical response function from one-monolayer-deposited LBMO, we found that under the conditions studied, the epitaxy was rate limited by the oxidation of the as-deposited monolayer with an activation barrier of 1 eV/atom or 23 kcal/mol. The result reveals the origin of oxygen deficiency often found in manganite thin films.