  Polar catastrophe at the interface of oxide materials with strongly
correlated electrons has triggered a flurry of new research activities. The
expectations are that the design of such advanced interfaces will become a
powerful route to engineer devices with novel functionalities. Here we
investigate the initial stages of growth and the electronic structure of the
spintronic Fe3O4/MgO (001) interface. Using soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy
we have discovered that the so-called A-sites are completely missing in the
first Fe3O4 monolayer. This allows us to develop an unexpected but elegant
growth principle in which during deposition the Fe atoms are constantly on the
move to solve the divergent electrostatic potential problem, thereby ensuring
epitaxy and stoichiometry at the same time. This growth principle provides a
new perspective for the design of interfaces.
