Abstract
We present epitaxial growth of europium (Eu) on the oxygen-induced c(6×2) reconstructed (110)Nb (niobium) surface at 150°C and at 260°C for various Eu coverages. The samples are characterized by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy and low-temperature in-situ nuclear resonance scattering. At a substrate temperature of 260°C Eu forms islands with the face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure that is an exotic crystallographic phase for metallic europium. The deposition at 150°C results to the already reported formation of a smooth film with hexagonal symmetry. The up to now unknown initially formed intermediate phase in this growth mode is identified as EuO-type stacking of [111]Eu layers that quickly relaxes towards that of an [0001]Eu film. The analysis of the nuclear resonance scattering data unambiguously demonstrates the formation of EuO interface at 260°C that facilitates the stabilization of the strained fcc Eu lattice. No traces of EuO are found in the sample grown at 150°C.
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