Electronic stability of magnetic Fe/Co superlattices with monatomic layer alternation.
We report a surprising observation that the growth of the [Fe(1 ML)/Co(1 ML)](n) superlattice of L1(0) structure on Cu(100) is stable only up to six atomic layers (n=3), which cannot be rationalized by stress arguments. Instead, first-principles calculations reveal a transition from the L1(0) to the B2 structure due to the effect of dimensionality on the stability of the electronic structure of the superlattice. Whereas the majority-spin electrons are energetically insensitive to the layer thickness, the minority-spin electrons induce the transition at n=3.
Farnan
G A
GA
Condensed Matter Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
Fu
C L
CL
Gai
Z
Z
Krcmar
M
M
Baddorf
A P
AP
Zhang
Zhenyu
Z
Shen
J
J