METALLIC EPITAXY OF TRANSITION METALS ON SEMICONDUCTORS

Abstract

AbstractAlthough epitaxial growth of single crystal metal films was reported at least five decades ago, the availability of modern ultra high vacuum technology and sensitive characterization of thin film properties has opened many new directions in this area of materials research. Of considerable interest is the utilization of the interfacial forces associated with epitaxial growth to stabilize structures which may exist in a metastable minimumenergy configuration. The problem of metastable structural phases of elemental metals will be discussed with particular emphasis upon the 3-d transition metals. In these materials the magnetic properties both depend dramatically upon the structural phase and contribute toward determining the stable minimum energy configuration.