Growth of thin Ni films on the W(110) surface Available to Purchase

The growth of thin Ni films on the W(110) surface was studied to look for any adsorbate‐induced structural modifications of the W substrate which might play a role in the modified magnetic and catalytic properties of the Ni film, and because these two materials are excellent candidates for forming metallic superlattices with atomically abrupt interfaces. We performed experiments using high‐energy ion backscattering and channeling together with x‐ray photoemission spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction. The initial growth of the Ni film on W(110) at room temperature appears to be in a double‐layer mode, which differs significantly from the growth modes reported previously. The double layer grows in a coincidence structure on the W substrate. The film assumes the bulk Ni structure beginning at a coverage of ∼5 ML based on the observation of Ni–Ni shadowing beginning at 7.7 ML for a normally incident ion beam. We observed that the W(110) substrate structure is not altered by the adsorption of Ni atoms, which supports a model for the interface having an atomically abrupt transition at room temperature.