Island-assisted interface alloying and magnetic polarization at submonolayer V/Cr(001) interfaces

Island-assisted interface alloying was observed during submonolayer deposition on Cr(001) substrates at 525 K. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy suggests atomic interchange at the center of the islands during the early stages of growth, giving rise to a Cr core in the center of the island and a gradually increasing V concentration toward the island rim. The existence of a VCr alloy with equiatomic composition is concluded by comparing tunneling spectra measured at the island rim with density-functional theory calculations. Coalescence of the initial islands gives rise to inhomogeneous alloying at monolayer coverage. Antiferromagnetic coupling between the islands and the Cr(001) substrate is found for coverages up to 0.50 atomic layers. At higher coverages, no magnetic contrast was observed

Smoothening of Cu films grown on Si(001)

We report an in situ study of the molecular-beam epitaxy growth and annealing of Cu(001) films grown on hydrogen-terminated Si(001) substrates, resulting in a promising approach to achieve smooth epitaxial morphology. Using correlated reflection high-energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy data, we find a temperature interval below the onset of silicide formation where a dramatic smoothening of the epitaxial Cu surfaces occurs. Our measurements indicate that a reduction in roughness is possible in this regime because the annealing is controlled by lateral diffusion kinetics. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71331/2/APPLAB-76-6-724-1.pd

Use of magnetocrystalline anisotropy in spin-dependent tunneling

Epitaxial growth techniques are used to impose in-plane magnetocrystalline anisotropy on a spin-polarized tunneling configuration. A Cu(100) buffer layer grown on a Si(100) substrate stabilizes epitaxial face-centered-cubic cobalt as one of the ferromagnetic electrodes. The negative magnetocrystalline constant of this metastable phase favors easy axes along Co 〈110〉 and, due to the single crystal nature of this layer, the coercivity is more than an order of magnitude larger than in the polycrystalline layers which form the second electrode. Our approach provides a way to access the high degree of spin polarization characteristic of the 3d3d transition metals. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69989/2/APPLAB-75-13-1941-1.pd

Magnetic field modulation of intense surface plasmon polaritons

We present correlated experimental and theoretical studies on the magnetic field modulation of Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPPs) in Au/Co/Au trilayers. The trilayers were grown by sputter deposition on glass slides with the Co films placed at different distances from the surface and with different thickness. We show that it is possible to tailor Au/Co/Au trilayers with the critical thickness needed for optimum excitation of SPPs leading to large localized electromagnetic fields. The modification of the SPP wave vector by externally applied magnetic fields was investigated by measuring the magneto-optical activity in transverse configuration. In addition, using magneto-optics as a tool we determined the spatial distribution of the SPP generated electromagnetic fields within Au/Co/Au samples by analyzing the field-dependent optical response, demonstrating that it is possible to excite SPPs that exhibit large electromagnetic fields that are also magneto-optically active and therefore can be modulated by externally applied magnetic fields. (C)2010 Optical Society of Americ

Tailored Fano resonance and localized electromagnetic field enhancement in Ag gratings

Metallic gratings can support Fano resonances when illuminated with EM radiation, and their characteristic reflectivity versus incident angle lineshape can be greatly affected by the surrounding dielectric environment and the grating geometry. By using conformal oblique incidence thin film deposition onto an optical grating substrate, it is possible to increase the grating amplitude due to shadowing effects, thereby enabling tailoring of the damping processes and electromagnetic field couplings of the Fano resonances, hence optimizing the associated localized electric field intensity. To investigate these effects we compare the optical reflectivity under resonance excitation in samples prepared by oblique angle deposition (OAD) and under normal deposition (ND) onto the same patterned surfaces. We observe that by applying OAD method, the sample exhibits a deeper and narrower reflectivity dip at resonance than that obtained under ND. This can be explained in terms of a lower damping of Fano resonance on obliquely deposited sample and leads to a stronger localized electric field. This approach opens a fabrication path for applications where tailoring the electromagnetic field induced by Fano resonance can improve the figure of merit of specific device characteristics, e.g. quantum efficiency (QE) in grating-based metallic photocathodes

Surface Morphology and Magnetic Anisotropy

Understanding the correlation between film structure and its ferromagnetic properties is very important for applications. Despite significant lattice mismatch epitaxial (001) fcc Ni films can be grown on MgO substrates using sputtering or molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). For both types of films it is observed that the average magnetization switching field is very similar but its azimuthal dependence is not. Structural characterization indicates very similar structure for both types of films where subtle differences are responsible for the striking difference in the anisotropy of the magnetic properties. © 2003 American Institute of PhysicsPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87491/2/629_1.pd

Interface structure and surface morphology of (Co, Fe, Ni)/Cu/Si(100) thin films

We have examined bilayer Co/Cu, Fe/Cu, and Ni/Cu films deposited by molecular‐beam epitaxy on hydrogen‐terminated [100] silicon substrates. The magnetic metal/copper interface was examined by atomic resolution transmission electron microscopy and compared with the surface morphology as depicted by atomic force microscopy. The general orientation relationships across the magnetic metal/copper interfaces were found to be: [001]Co, Ni∥[001]Cu; (010)Co, Ni∥(010)Cu and [001]Fe∥[001]Cu; (110)Fe∥(200)Cu. The latter system is equivalent to the [11 1]Fe∥[011]Cu and (110)Fe∥(100)Cu Pitsch relationship, as has been reported earlier. Furthermore, there was a general correlation between interfacial and surface roughness, indicating that the initial interface character is propagated throughout the film during growth. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71022/2/JAPIAU-80-9-5035-1.pd

Roughness analysis applied to niobium thin films grown on MgO(001) surfaces for superconducting radio frequency cavity applications

This paper describes surface studies to address roughness issues inherent to thin film coatings deposited onto superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. This is particularly relevant for multilayered thin film coatings that are being considered as a possible scheme to overcome technical issues and to surpass the fundamental limit of similar to 50 MV/m accelerating gradient achievable with bulk niobium. In 2006, a model by Gurevich [Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 012511 (2006)] was proposed to overcome this limit that involves coating superconducting layers separated by insulating ones onto the inner walls of the cavities. Thus, we have undertaken a systematic effort to understand the dynamic evolution of the Nb surface under specific deposition thin film conditions onto an insulating surface in order to explore the feasibility of the proposed model. We examine and compare the morphology from two distinct Nb/MgO series, each with its own epitaxial registry, at very low growth rates and closely examine the dynamical scaling of the surface features during growth. Further, we apply analysis techniques such as power spectral density to the specific problem of thin film growth and roughness evolution to qualify the set of deposition conditions that lead to successful SRF coatings. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.16.02200

Scattering of positrons and electrons by alkali atoms

Absolute total scattering cross sections (Q sub T's) were measured for positrons and electrons colliding with sodium, potassium, and rubidium in the 1 to 102 eV range, using the same apparatus and experimental approach (a beam transmission technique) for both projectiles. The present results for positron-sodium and -rubidium collisions represent the first Q sub T measurements reported for these collision systems. Features which distinguish the present comparisons between positron- and electron-alkali atom Q sub T's from those for other atoms and molecules (room-temperature gases) which have been used as targets for positrons and electrons are the proximity of the corresponding positron- and electron-alkali atom Q sub T's over the entire energy range of overlap, with an indication of a merging or near-merging of the corresponding positron and electron Q sub T's near (and above) the relatively low energy of about 40 eV, and a general tendency for the positron-alkali atom Q sub T's to be higher than the corresponding electron values as the projectile energy is decreased below about 40 eV