GROWTH MODES AND ELECTRONIC-PROPERTIES OF COPPER ULTRA-THIN FILMS ON A V(100) SURFACE

Growth modes and electronic properties of ultra-thin films of copper d eposited on the V(100) surface were studied over a wide temperature ra nge (220-1200 K). XPS, LEED, TDS and angular resolved UPS data are pre sented. At 300 K, initially, two copper layers grow in an ordered, ''l ayer-by-layer'' mode, in registry with the V(100) surface. These layer s are stable over the whole of the studied temperature range (300 K -- > desorption onset). Further copper deposition results in a disordered him growth where more layers grow at the same time, probably with dif ferent structures. In the temperature range 300-600 K, an increased mo bility of Cu atoms induces, gradually, the formation of 3D clusters on a supporting copper layer. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.