The recent study of oxides led to the discovery of several new fascinating physical phenomena. High-temperature superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance, dilute magnetic doping, or multiferroicity were discovered and investigated in transition-metal oxides, representing a prototype class of strongly correlated electronic systems. This development was accompanied by an enormous progress regarding thin film fabrication. Within the past two decades, epitaxial thin films with crystalline quality approaching semiconductor standards became available using laser molecular beam epitaxy. This evolution is reviewed, particularly with emphasis on transition-metal oxide thin films, their versatile physical properties, and their impact on the field of spintronics. First, the physics of ferromagnetic half-metallic oxides, such as the doped manganites, the double perovskites and magnetite is presented together with possible applications based on magnetic tunnel junctions. Second, the wide bandgap semiconductor zinc oxide is discussed particularly with regard to the controversy of dilute magnetic doping with transition-metal ions and the possibility of realizing p-type conductivity. Third, the field of oxide multiferroics is presented with the recent developments in single-phase multiferroic thin film perovskites as well as in composite multiferroic hybrids.
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