title: Electronic stability of magnetic Fe/Co superlattices with monatomic layer alternation.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Condensed Matter Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Farnan
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gai
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krcmar
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Baddorf
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen