Metastable phase of vanadium

The epitaxial Bain path for vanadium, calculated by first-principles theory , reveals the existence of a metastable body-centered-tetragonal (bct) phas e with cia - 1.78. Experiments aimed at stabilizing this phase by pseudomor phic epitaxy on a Ni{001} substrate were successful insofar as the ultrathi n films grown have a bet structure with cia between 1.73 and 1.77. The bulk structure of the V films was determined by quantitative low-energy electro n diffraction, but the accuracy of the results is worse than usual owing to high densities of defects in the grown films. [S0163-1829(98)03044-6].