Multiple time scales in diffraction measurements of diffusive surface relaxation

We grew SrTiO3 on SrTiO3(001) by pulsed laser deposition, using x-ray scattering to monitor the growth in real time. The time-resolved small-angle scattering exhibits a well-defined length scale associated with the spacing between unit-cell high surface features. This length scale imposes a discrete spectrum of Fourier components and rate constants upon the diffusion equation solution, evident in multiple exponential relaxation of the anti-Bragg diffracted intensity. An Arrhenius analysis of measured rate constants confirms that they originate from a single activation energy.