Electronic structure and surface reconstruction of DyNi films grown on W(1 1 0)

Abstract

Angle-resolved photoemission and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) were used to study thin films of DyNi(001) grown in situ under ultra-high vacuum conditions by codeposition of Dy and Ni onto a W(110) substrate and subsequent annealing. Guided by the results of electronic structure calculations an observed (3×1) overstructure of the LEED pattern and the appearance of a Dy 5d-derived surface state at the Fermi energy are explained by a reconstruction of the (001) surface resulting from missing Ni rows in the topmost atomic layer. Similar to metallic Gd(0001) the d-like behavior of the obtained surface state may influence surface magnetic properties of thin films of DyNi.