Morphology of fcc Co(110) films on Cu(110)

The surface morphology of fee Co(110) films deposited on Cu(110) using oxyg en as a surfactant is characterized by He atom scattering. Interference mea surements reveal that the thicker Co films are quite flat and that this fla tness is preserved after removal of the oxygen with atomic hydrogen. During growth of the first few layers a rough film morphology is observed which i s related to the deconstruction of the Cu(110)-(2 x 1)O interface and the f ormation of a (1 x 2) reconstructed Co-Cu-O phase after deposition of the f irst Co monolayer. With increasing film thickness the measured step height changes from ( 1.28 +/- 0.02)Angstrom characteristic of the Cu(110) surface to (1.21 +/- 0.02)Angstrom attributed to the interlayer spacing of pseudom orphic fee Co(110). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.