EPJ Web of Conferences 40, 08004 (2013)
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20134008004

Structure analysis of Ni thin films epitaxially grown on bcc metal underlayers formed on MgO(100) substrates

Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, 1-13-27 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8551, Japan

Abstract

Ni thin films are prepared on Cr, V, and Nb underlayers with bcc structure formed on MgO(100) single-crystal substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The growth behavior and the crystallographic properties are investigated by in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction and pole-figure X-ray diffraction. Cr(100) and V(100) single-crystal underlayers grow epitaxially on the substrates, whereas an Nb epitaxial_underlayer consisting of two bcc(110) variants is formed on the MgO(100) substrate. Metastable crystals nucleate on the Cr and the V underlayers, where the metastable hcp structure is stabilized through heteroepitaxial growth. With increasing the film thickness, the hcp structure starts to transform into more stable fcc structure by atomic displacement parallel to the hcp(0001) close-packed plane. The resulting films are consisting of mixtures of hcp and fcc crystals. On the other hand, only the formation of fcc crystal is recognized for the Ni film grown on Nb(110) underlayer.