How to use oxygen and atomic hydrogen to prepare atomically flat fcc Co(110) films

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
It is shown that atomic hydrogen from a specially designed atomic beam source is well suited for removing chemisorbed oxygen from an fcc Co(110) film that has been grown on a Cu(110) substrate using oxygen as a surfactant. Exposing the oxygen-terminated Co surface to atomic hydrogen leads to a surface reaction which destroys the (3×1) ordered-O induced surface reconstruction of the Co film. Upon annealing at 380 K, the hydrogen remaining on the O-free Co surface can be completely desorbed. With this technique, it is possible for the first time to prepare about 15 monolayers thick, atomically-flat fcc Co(110) films.