Properties of Fe single-crystal films grown on (100)GaAs by molecular-beam epitaxy

Abstract

Single-crystal (100)Fe films 90–330 Å thick have been grown on etch-annealed (100)GaAs substrates by molecular-beam-epitaxy techniques. Ferromagnetic resonance data indicate that the two in-plane 〈110〉 directions are inequivalent and, together with magnetometry data, show that the average film magnetization decreases as the thickness decreases. The inequivalence is attributed to the nature of the interface bonding at a (100) zinc-blende surface. The decreased magnetization is attributed to the formation of Fe2As microclusters in the film due to As diffusion which is supported by Auger and electron diffraction studies. In general, the Fe films grown to date on etch-annealed (100)GaAs substrates are significantly inferior to those grown on (110)GaAs.