Preparation of remanently ferromagnetic Gd(0001)

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Abstract
Epitaxial Gd films were prepared in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) on W(110) substrates. Cleanliness, growth mode, and surface crystallography were analyzed using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). Stranski–Krastanov growth is established by AES for a substrate temperature Ts =450 °C. The LEED patterns correspond to the hcp(0001) surface. For nominal thicknesses in the range 1≲d̄≲50 Å a typical double diffraction interference pattern occurs. For d̄≳70 Å both the satellite pattern in LEED and the W signal in AES vanish, indicating coherent film surfaces for this thickness range. The films can be remanently magnetized as shown by in situ measurements of the magneto-optical Kerr effect and by spin-polarized low-energy electron diffraction (SPLEED).