Initial growth of Pd on Ru(0001): a multi-technique study

A. DE SIERVO; E. DE BIASI; F. GARCIA; R. LANDERS; M. D. MARTINS; W.A.A. MACEDO

Foz do Iguaçu, PR, Brazil

Congreso; International Conference on Electronic Spectroscopy and Structure; 2006

  Nowadays, ultrathin films play an important role in modern science and technology. They are present in many different areas and in a large number of different applications. Recently much  work has been done to study induced magnetic properties of ultrathin Pd films grown on different substrates. The growth mode and the electronic and crystallographic structures of the film a function of several parameters such as the substrate temperature, rate of deposition, and lattice mismatch. It is expected that Pd can grow almost in a planar fashion on the Ru(0001). However, it is not clear in the literature if Pd grows in an hcp or fcc package on these surfaces. In this work, Pd films were grown on a clean Ru(0001) single crystalline substrate with different thickness from sub-monolayer up to approximately 15 ML under UHV conditions. The study is based on XPS and XPD measurements using conventional Mg KƒÑ and synchrotron radiation sources, RHEED and MOKE measurements were also used. The LEED patterns showed hexagonal symmetry, which could be interpreted as an indication of an hcp Pd film. However, the XPD analysis using theory-experiment comparisons indicate that the film is formed by fcc domains rotated by 60 degrees one in relation to the other. The electronic structure and crystallography of the Pd films will be discussed in details.