In situ real-time investigation of kinetics of nucleation and growth of sol-gel-derived functional oxide thin films

Early-stage nucleation and growth kinetics of sol-gel-derived multiferroic ${\text{BiFeO}}_{3}$ thin films were investigated in situ and in real time by combining transmission electron microscopy and grazing-incidence small-angle x-ray scattering (GISAXS). While the initial phase of the nuclei was identified to be ${\text{Bi}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{2}{\text{CO}}_{3}$, the quantitative GISAXS analysis unambiguously revealed that the early-stage kinetic nucleation growth in the thin films was dominated by an oriented-attachment mechanism as opposed to the conventional Ostwald ripening in metallic and ceramic systems.