Oxygen surfactant-assisted growth and dewetting of Co films on O-3 × 3/W(111)

Kun Jen Hsueh, Cheng Jui Tsai, Shih Yu Wu, Hsin Lei Chou, Francesco Bisio, Chien Cheng Kuo, Wen Chin Lin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Following the cyclic heating in oxygen and annealing, an oxygen-induced 3 × 3 reconstruction was found on the W(111) surface. The growth, crystalline structure, thermal stability, and magnetism of Co ultrathin films deposited on the O-3 × 3/W(111) surface were investigated. The Auger signal of the oxygen was always observable and nearly invariant after either Co deposition or annealing, indicating the role of the surfactant played by oxygen. Auger electron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy measurements revealed the 2-dimensional growth of Co on O-3 × 3/W(111). Following the annealing procedures, the surfactant oxygen was always observed to float on the film surface while the Co film transformed to 3-dimensional islands with a wetting layer. In contrast to the thermodynamically stable wetting layer of 1 physical monolayer (PML) Co on clean W(111) between 700 and 1000 K, the oxygen surfactant led to a reduction of the wetting layer to ≈1/3 PML after thermal annealing. The 6 and 9.6 PML Co/O-3 × 3/W(111) revealed a stable in-plane magnetic anisotropy. A 6-fold symmetry corresponding to the crystalline structure was observed in the in-plane angle-dependent magneto-optical Kerr effect measurement.

Original languageEnglish
Article number203907
JournalJournal of Applied Physics
Volume114
Issue number20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013 Nov 28

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Oxygen surfactant-assisted growth and dewetting of Co films on O-3 × 3/W(111)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this