Epitaxial growth of Au and Pt on Fe3O4(111) surface

We have studied the epitaxial growth of An and Pt layers on Fe3O4(111) as a function of the deposition temperature and thickness. The layers were deposited by UHV sputtering and the structural properties were investigated by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), X-ray experiments and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The epitaxial growth of both metals was obtained whatever the deposition conditions but the wetting is however different for the two metals. Comparison between the coverage ratios of An and Pt is correlated with their surface and interfaces energies. The optimum conditions to achieve a 2D flat epitaxial metallic layer are determined. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.