Heteroepitaxial growth of Co on W(110) investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy

2003

We investigated the growth of Co submonolayers on bcc W(110) by scanning tunneling microscopy. Due to the strong Co-W bonding, monolayers of Co grow in equilibrium pseudomorphically on W(110) until the monolayer is almost completed. When excess atoms are deposited atop the pseudomorphic monolayer, it transforms to a close-packed (cp) monolayer with misfit dislocation lines parallel to $[11\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}0]$ (Nishiyama-Wassermann orientation). The structure of the cp monolayer, as concluded from atomically resolved STM images, deviates from the rigid hard-sphere model of a cp (111) layer. Details of the structure are compared to a structure model previously proposed by…