Epitaxial growth of Fe/Mo/Fe(111) and Fe/Cr/Fe(111) on Si(111)

Abstract

Epitaxial body-centered cubic Mo and Cr films have been grown on the (111) surface of α–Fe films on Si(111) at 300 and 575 K by electron beam evaporation in ultrahigh vacuum. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy show that the Mo films are oriented with the (111) plane parallel to the α-Fe(111) plane and with the Mo[1$\overline 1$0] direction parallel to the Fe[1$\overline 1$0] direction in the plane of the substrate. The same orientation relationship holds for the Cr films epitaxially grown on α-Fe(111) surfaces. Epitaxial Fe(111)/Mo(111)/Fe(111) and Fe(111)/Cr(111)/Fe(111) films have also been grown on Si(111). This work provides new examples of low temperature epitaxy which can occur at a substrate temperature as low as 0.1 times the melting temperature of the deposited materials.