Abstract:1.1 Reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD)1.2 Basic principles of RHEED1.3 Analysis of typical RHEED patterns: the influence of surface disorder1.4 Crystal growth: kinetics vs thermodynamics1.5 Variations of the specular intensity during deposition1.6 Kinetical growth modes and the intensity response in RHEED1.7 RHEED intensity variations and Monte Carlo simulations1.8 Conclusions1.9 Acknowledgements