ABSTRACT
The charge distribution of the defect states at the reduced TiO(2)(110) surface is studied via a new method, the resonant photoelectron diffraction. The diffraction pattern from the defect state, excited at the Ti-2p-3d resonance, is analyzed in the forward scattering approach and on the basis of multiple scattering calculations. The defect charge is found to be shared by several surface and subsurface Ti sites with the dominant contribution on a specific subsurface site in agreement with density functional theory calculations.
ABSTRACT
From absorption spectra, the only way to bring to the fore the occurrence of quadrupolar transitions is to study their angular dependence. Resonant spectroscopies offer a new opportunity to obtain more insight into excited electronic states by studying lineshape and intensity of decay processes. We show here that resonantly excited Ti KL(2,3)L(2,3) Auger spectra of TiO2(110) carry a clear signature of quadrupolar transitions to localized e(g) and t(2g) d-like states, giving access to a direct measurement of crystal field splitting.
ABSTRACT
Epitaxial thin films provide new opportunities to explore the relationship between structure and magnetism. The bidimensionnal character of magnetic films deposited on single-crystal substrates and the occurrence of singular crystallographic structures often confer on these systems electronic and magnetic properties that cannot be found in the bulk solids. Although shape anisotropy would favour an in-plane easy axis of magnetization for thin films, Ni layers deposited on Cu(001) present a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in a very wide thickness range. It is shown that this can be explained by a distorted structure of Ni, originating from the strain induced by the epitaxy on the Cu substrate. In the field of low-dimensional magnetism, nanostructures with a reduced lateral dimension are now being widely investigated in view of their technological applications. Thin Fe layers on MgO(001) can be cut into strips by the 'atomic saw' method: a compression of the substrate induces a dislocation slipping which 'saws' both the substrate and the Fe film into regular and separated ribbons. The observed magnetic anisotropy, with the easy axis perpendicular to the strips, is explained by a structural relaxation occurring during the structuration process. In these two studies, a precise structural characterization and simple magnetoelastic models allow the magnetic behaviour of the systems to be described. The structure of the films can be described as an elastic deformation of the bulk structure.
