Growth phases and optical anisotropy of Co on preoxidized Cu(110) - art. no. 184424

We investigate the growth of Co on Cu(110) surfaces using oxygen as a surfa ctant. Reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) and scanning tunneling mic roscopy (STM) were used for in situ analysis during different stages of gro wth. STM images taken after growth interruptions at various Co coverage exh ibit a nearly laver-by-layer growth of up to 20 ML. For submonolayer covera ge, different Co-Cu-O-phases are found, in agreement with previous work. Ab ove monolayer coverage we observe a fairly smooth Co layer with an oxygen-t erminated Co(110) (3 x 1) surface structure. RAS spectra taken during growt h interruptions reveal characteristic "fingerprint"-like spectra assigned t o the different growth phases. We interpret the features of the RAS spectra in terms of surface-state- and bulk-related electronic transitions. Moreov er, we show that real-time monitoring of the growth process is possible by taking RAS transients at a fixed photon energy.