Surface structure of ultrathin metal films deposited on copper single crystals

Ultrathin films of Cobalt, Iron and Manganese have been thennally evaporated onto an fcc Copper (111) single crystal substrate and investigated using a variety of surface structural teclmiques. The small lattice mismatch between these metals and the Cu (111) substrate make them an ideal candidate for the study of the phenomena of pseudomorphic film growth. This is important for the understanding of the close relationship between film structure and magnetic properties. Growing films with the structure of their substrate rather than their bulk phase may provide an opportunity to grow materials with novel physical and magnetic properties, and hence new technological applications. Both Cobalt and Iron have been found to initially maintain a registry with the fee Cu (111) surface in a manner consistent with pseudomorphic growth. This growth is complicated by island rather than layer-by-layer growth in the initials stages of the film. In both cases a change in the structure of the film seems to occur at a point where the coalescence of islands in the film may be expected to occur. When the film does change structure they do not form a perfect over-layer with the structure of their bulk counterpart. The films do contain a number of features representative of the bulk phase but also contain considerable disorder and possibly remnants of fcc (111) structure. The order present in these films can be greatly improved by annealing. Manganese appears to grow with an fee Mn (111) lattice spacing and there is no sign of a change in structure in films of up to 4.61 ML thick. The gradual deposition and annealing of a film to 300°C, with a total deposition time the same as that for a 1 ML thick film, causes a surface reconstruction to occur that is apparent in a R30° (√3×√3) LEED pattern. This is attributed to the formation of a surface alloy, which is also supported by the local expansion of the Cu lattice in the (111) direction.