Oxidized surfaces of Cu films on Ru(0001)

Abstract

The crystallographic aspects of O-induced structures on strained Cu films grown epitaxially on Ru(0001) are studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and high-resolution low-energy electron diffraction. O adsorption at 520 K removes the thickness-dependent relaxation structures of the O-free Cu film. Instead, structures appear corresponding to a film thickness reduced by one monolayer, accompanied with the formation of a O/Cu surface layer. Wave-like O–Cu–O chains along the [ 1 ̄ 12] direction are formed on the pseudomorphic Cu monolayer. The O/Cu structures on uniaxially reconstructed Cu bilayers depend on both the local stacking sequence and the extension of the unit cell. On moiré-like Cu films (thickness >3 ML), an O/Cu structure of well-established long-range order only occurs if O is preadsorbed on Ru(0001). The results obtained allow one to conclude that Cu–O segments (links) of the O–Cu–O chains should be regarded as surfactants for the O-mediated growth of Cu/Ru(0001). All O/Cu structures can be interpreted on the basis of O–Cu–O strings, in close relation to Cu 2O(111).