Epitaxial growth of Fe films on cubic GaN(0 0 1)

• Published in: Journal of crystal growth Vol. 240; no. 1; pp. 236 - 240
• Main Authors: Lallaizon, C., Schieffer, P., Lépine, B., Guivarc’h, A., Abel, F., Cohen, C., Feuillet, G., Daudin, B., Dau, F.Nguyen Van
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.04.2002; Elsevier
• Subjects: A3. Molecular beam epitaxy; Applied sciences; B1. Metals; B1. Nitride; B2. Semiconducting gallium compounds; Condensed Matter; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Exact sciences and technology; Magnetic properties and materials; Magnetic properties of monolayers and thin films; Magnetic properties of surface, thin films and multilayers; Materials science; Metals. Metallurgy; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Molecular, atomic, ion, and chemical beam epitaxy; Physics; B1. Nitride; 68.55.−a; A3. Molecular beam epitaxy; 81.15; B2. Semiconducting gallium compounds; 75.70.−i; B1. Metals; Magnetization; Crystal orientation; Crystal chemistry; Magnetic hysteresis; Iron; Crystal growth from vapors; Experimental study; Crystal perfection; Orientation relation; Characterization; Thin films; Transition elements; Mismatch lattice; Coercive force; Molecular beam epitaxy; Heterojunctions; Mosaic structure; Magnetic properties
• ISSN: 0022-0248; 1873-5002
• DOI: 10.1016/S0022-0248(02)00834-5

Fe films have been grown on cubic GaN(0 0 1) layers by molecular beam epitaxy. They were studied in situ by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron diffraction and ex situ by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), X-ray diffraction and alternating gradient field magnetometry. Despite the large lattice mismatch between Fe and cubic GaN [Δ a/ a=(2 a Fe− a GaN)/ a GaN=+26%], the growth of Fe on GaN was found to be epitaxial with the orientation relationship (0 0 1)[1 0 0]Fe∥(0 0 1)[1 1 0]GaN i.e. with a 45° rotation of the Fe unit cell with respect to the GaN one. The mosaic spread of the Fe film does not exceed 1°. In such conditions we observed that the magnetic hysteresis loops show a cubic anisotropy with the easy axes along 〈1 0 0〉, as for bulk bcc Fe.