Nucleation and Growth of Fe on GaAs(001)-(2x4) Studied by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy; Journal article

摘要

The nucleation and growth of Fe on GaAs(001)-(2x4) has been studied in situ with scanning tunneling microscopy. The growth is dominated by the structure of the substrate reconstruction. Fe initially forms stable six- to eight-atom two-dimensional islands confined to the first-layer As-dimer rows. The islands preferentially coalesce along the rows, leading to an anisotropic film morphology that persists for at least the first 50 angstrom of growth. These results provide insight into the growth mode of Fe on GaAs surfaces and have implications for the magnetic properties of ultrathin Fe films.