Geometrical and Compositional Structure at Metal-Oxide Interfaces: MgO on Fe(001)

H. L. Meyerheim; R. Popescu; J. Kirschner; N. Jedrecy; M. Sauvage-Simkin; B. Heinrich; R. Pinchaux

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.076102

Geometrical and Compositional Structure at Metal-Oxide Interfaces: MgO on Fe(001)

H. L. Meyerheim, R. Popescu, J. Kirschner, N. Jedrecy, M. Sauvage-Simkin, B. Heinrich, and R. Pinchaux

Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 076102 – Published 31 July 2001

Abstract

The geometric structure of MgO deposited on Fe(001) in ultrahigh vacuum by electron evaporation was determined in detail by using surface x-ray diffraction. In contrast to the common belief that MgO grows in direct contact on the Fe(001) substrate, we find an FeO interface layer between the substrate and the growing MgO structure which has not been considered thus far. This result opens new perspectives for the understanding of the Fe/MgO/Fe(001) interface and the tunneling magnetoresistance effect in general.

Received 21 February 2001

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.076102

Authors & Affiliations

H. L. Meyerheim^*, R. Popescu, and J. Kirschner

Max-Planck Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik, Weinberg 2, D-06120 Halle, Germany

N. Jedrecy and M. Sauvage-Simkin

LURE, CNRS-MENRT-CEA, Bâtiment 209 d, Centre Universitaire Paris-Sud, F-92405 Orsay, France and Laboratoire de Minèralogie-Cristallographie, Associè au CNRS et aux Universitès Pierre et Marie Curie, (Paris 6) et Denis Diderot (Paris 7), 4 place Jussieu, F-75252 Paris Cedex 05, France

B. Heinrich

Department of Physics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6

R. Pinchaux

LURE, CNRS-MENRT-CEA, Bâtiment 209 d, Centre Universitaire Paris-Sud, F-92405 Orsay, France and Universitè Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 place Jussieu, F-75252 Paris Cedex 05, France