MnAs films grown on GaAs (001) exhibit a progressive transition between
hexagonal (ferromagnetic) and orthorhombic (paramagnetic) phases at wide
temperature range instead of abrupt transition during the first-order phase
transition. The coexistence of two phases is favored by the anisotropic strain
arising from the constraint on the MnAs films imposed by the substrate. This
phase coexistence occurs in ordered arrangement alternating periodic terrace
steps. We present here a method to study the surface morphology throughout this
transition by means of specular and diffuse scattering of soft x-rays, tuning
the photon energy at the Mn 2p resonance. The results show the long-range
arrangement of the periodic stripe-like structure during the phase coexistence
and its period remains constant, in agreement with previous results using other
techniques.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Applied Physics Letter
