Article

Surface alloying and pinhole formation in ultra-thin FeCu(100) films

Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik, Weinberg 2, 06120, Halle / Saale, Germany; Fritz-Haber-Institut / OF, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Surface Science DOI:10.1016/0039-6028(95)00024-0 pp.32-46

ABSTRACT Relatively mild annealing sometimes produces unexpectedly large changes in surface composition of ultra-thin films. We report results of a scanning tunnelling microscopy study of such annealing in an system. Copper appears in the surface region after a short 490 K anneal. We specifically exclude the possibility of bulk interdiffusion and conclude that this surface copper comes from the substrate through microscopic pinholes. Our primary finding is that the balance of surface free energies which strongly prefers Cu/Fe/Cu over is the main driving force for pinhole formation and copper segregation. Furthermore, we report a significant surface alloying in this otherwise almost immiscible system.

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Keywords

bulk interdiffusion
 
copper segregation
 
main
 
microscopic pinholes
 
pinhole formation
 
scanning tunnelling microscopy study
 
short 490 K anneal
 
substrate
 
surface composition
 
surface copper
 
surface free energies
 
unexpectedly large changes