Formation of Monatomic Fe Chains on Vicinal Cu(111) Surfaces: An Atomistic View

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2006 · Physical Review B

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.73.193405· OSTI ID:1003273

Guo, Jiandong ^[1]; Mo, Yina ^[2]; Kaxiras, Efthimios ^[2]; Zhang, Zhenyu ^[1]; Weitering, Harm H ^[1]

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1. ORNL
2. Harvard University

Uniform arrays of monatomic Fe chains are realized on a vicinal Cu(111) surface with a regular step array. Deposited Fe atoms are first embedded into the flat Cu(111) terrace at precisely one-atom distance away from the upper edge of a monatomic surface step. The resulting Fe wires, in turn, serve as one-dimensional nucleation lines for the formation of monatomic Fe chains along the upper edges of the steps. The present results, obtained by scanning tunneling microscopy and interpreted with first-principles calculations, unambiguously establish the essential role of embedded Fe atoms as a precursor to monatomic wire growth. The Fe wires present an ideal testing ground for exploring ferromagnetism in the one-dimensional limit.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
• Sponsoring Organization: SC USDOE - Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1003273
• Journal Information: Physical Review B, Journal Name: Physical Review B Journal Issue: 19 Vol. 73; ISSN 1098-0121; ISSN 1550-235X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ATOMS
CHAINS
FERROMAGNETISM
NUCLEATION
PRECURSOR
SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPY
TESTING