J. Delafiguera et al., SCANNING-TUNNELING-MICROSCOPY STUDY OF THE GROWTH OF COBALT ON CU(111), Physical review. B, Condensed matter, 47(19), 1993, pp. 13043-13046
Cobalt grows initially on Cu(111) in the form of bilayer islands with
the shape of triangles of alternate orientation. This is probably rela
ted to the initial stacking sequence of the Co layers. The islands do
not coalesce upon further deposition and the resulting film, although
epitaxial and crystalline to the extent tested by diffraction techniqu
es, is, actually, granular. Thus, microscopic evidence is provided for
the existence of an intrinsic defect, namely, twinned fcc crystallite
s and their associated grain boundaries, which may be the much sought
cause of discrepancy on antiferromagnetic coupling data in Co/Cu(111)
superlattices grown in ultrahigh vacuum.