Pseudomorphic growth of a single element quasiperiodic ultrathin film on a quasicrystal substrate.
An ultrathin film with a periodic interlayer spacing was grown by the deposition of Cu atoms on the fivefold surface of the icosahedral Al70Pd21Mn9 quasicrystal. For coverages from 5 to 25 monolayers, a distinctive quasiperiodic low-energy electron diffraction pattern is observed. Scanning tunneling microscopy images show that the in-plane structure comprises rows having separations of S=4.5+/-0.2 A and L=7.3+/-0.3 A, whose ratio equals tau=1.618... within experimental error. The sequences of such row separations form segments of terms of the Fibonacci sequence, indicative of the formation of a pseudomorphic Cu film.
Ledieu
J
J
Surface Science Research Centre, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, United Kingdom.
Hoeft
J T
JT
Reid
D E
DE
Smerdon
J A
JA
Diehl
R D
RD
Lograsso
T A
TA
Ross
A R
AR
McGrath
R
R