Modification of initial growth and magnetism in Fe/Cu(100)

Abstract

The influence of the deposition rate upon the initial growth morphology and magnetism of ultrathin Fe films on the Cu(100) surface has been studied with low-energy electron diffraction, reflection high-energy electron diffraction, surface magneto-optical Kerr effect (SMOKE), and spin-polarized low-energy electron microscopy (SPLEEM). Dramatic changes in the first diffraction intensity oscillation during growth at room temperature indicate that simultaneous growth of the first and second atomic layers is converted to more perfect layer-by-layer growth when the deposition rate is reduced below 0.5 ML/min. SPLEEM and SMOKE demonstrate the sensitivity of magnetism in Fe/Cu(100) to details of interface formation during the initial growth in this range of deposition rates. Kinetic and thermodynamic mechanisms that relate to place exchange at the interface are discussed as the source of the observed growth and magnetic behavior.