Epitaxial growth of metals: from monolayer to superlattice

The aim of this work is to show that, in order to produce high-quality metallic superlattices, the major requirements are to have an accurate control of the growth process and to use very flat, well ordered substrates. To this end, the growth of Co and Cu on Cu(100) has been studied from its very early stages, by means of Thermal Energy Atom Scattering (TEAS). Also, different Co Cu superlattices have been produced, and studied by neutron diffraction and SQUID magnetometry. They show good crystallinity, with the cobalt layers magnetized in plane and ordered antiferromagnetically. The magnetic moment of the cobalt atoms coincides with that of bulk fcc cobalt.