Electronic and crystalline structure, morphology, and magnetism of nanometric Fe2O3 layers deposited on Pt(111) by atomic-oxygen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy -: art. no. 245423

Up to 30 nm thick Fe2O3/Pt(111) layers were prepared by atomic-oxygen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The structure, morphology, composition and magnetic properties of the films were investigated. The growth becomes 3D above 2 nm and after 3 nm the epitaxial gamma-Fe2O3(111) phase fully transforms into a alpha-Fe2O3(0001) layer along with a ferrimagnetic to antiferromagnetic transition and a progressive structural relaxation. It is shown that the apparent surface lattice parameter is not simply related to the chemical phase up to 20 nm.