Preparation of remanently ferromagnetic Gd(0001)

Epitaxial Gd films were prepared in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) on W(110) substrates. Cleanliness, growth mode, and surface crystallography were analyzed using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). Stranski–Krastanov growth is established by AES for a substrate temperature Ts =450 °C. The LEED patterns correspond to the hcp(0001) surface. For nominal thicknesses in the range 1≲d̄≲50 Å a typical double diffraction interference pattern occurs. For d̄≳70 Å both the satellite pattern in LEED and the W signal in AES vanish, indicating coherent film surfaces for this thickness range. The films can be remanently magnetized as shown by in situ measurements of the magneto-optical Kerr effect and by spin-polarized low-energy electron diffraction (SPLEED).