Electronic structure of the two-dimensionally ordered Mn/Cu(110) magnetic surface alloy

Abstract

We report a systematic investigation of the electronic properties and correlation effects in a two-dimensional magnetic surface alloy Mn/Cu(110) using a combination of spectroscopic techniques ranging from the angle-resolved photoemission, x-ray photoelectron, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Our results show that increasing Mn concentration surprisingly induces a progressive charge redistribution on the Cu(110) substrate, increasing the electron occupancy of the Cu Shockley surface state. Furthermore, new Mn-induced surface bands are identified at the $\overline{X}$ symmetry point that are backfolded with respect to the Brillouin-zone boundary and expose a band gap in the occupied states. Distinct satellite features in both the core-level photoemission and absorption spectra for a wide range of Mn concentrations suggest the presence of strong electronic correlations and increased ordering of this alloy with respect to its other known counterparts, such as Mn/Cu(100) and Mn/Ni(110).