Epitaxial growth of cubic Laves phase intermetallic compounds (YCo2, TbCo2) and new epitaxial relationship between fcc (111) and bcc (110)

Abstract

YCo2 and TbCo2 Laves phase compounds were epitaxially grown on (110) W buffer layers by pulsed laser deposition at a base pressure of 5×10−10 Torr and a substrate temperature of 500 °C. The films were characterized in situ by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, and after deposition by grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The relative orientation of the RCo2(111), where R=Y or Tb, and the W(110) planes was found to be unlike any previously observed relationship between fcc and bcc materials. Two in-plane crystallographic domains of RCo2(111) have been pointed out and are discussed in terms of geometrical lattice matching.