APS » PROLA » Phys. Rev. B » Volume 56 » Issue 16

Phys. Rev. B 56, R10071 - R10074 (1997)

Observation of inverted island-substrate step structures in heteroepitaxial growth: Gd on W(100)

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R. G. White, M. H. Lee, and N. P. Tucker
Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Surface Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, United Kingdom

S. D. Barrett
Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Surface Science, and Department of Physics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, United Kingdom

P. W. Murray
Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Surface Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom

Rapid Communication Received 5 August 1997

Scanning tunneling microscopy has been used to study the growth of Gd on W(100) in which an inverted island-substrate step structure is seen for deposition at elevated temperatures. This results in lower step heights than would be the case if the islands followed the step morphology, and a reduction of the exposure of high-energy Gd faces. Deposition at lower temperatures results in flat islands whose size is related to the deposition temperature, with the data supporting a local Stranski-Krastinov growth mechanism. Low-energy electron diffraction indicates that the islands are terminated by the Gd(0001) face and that a (8×2) overlayer is formed.


©1997 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRB/v56/pR10071
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.56.R10071
PACS: 68.35.Fx, 68.55.Jk

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