Influence of the substrate surface termination on the properties of bcc-cobalt films: GaAs(1 1 0) versus Sb/GaAs(1 1 0)

Among the wide range of metal-semiconductor interfaces, the ferromagnetic-semiconductor ones are of particular interest due to potential technological applications (i.e. realization of spintronic devices) and to the fundamental physics behind them. Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES) have been used to investigate the evolution of the crystallinity and interface reaction of Co thin films deposited on Sb/GaAs(1 10). The RHEED images have allowed us to qualitative observe an improvement of the Co bcc crystal structure compared to the deposition on the bare substrate. Additionally, the use of high energy resolution synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy has shown that the interdiffusion process behaves differently from that observed for the non-passivated surface.