We report on a study of the Co intercalation process underneath the
R30° reconstructed 6H-SiC(0001) surface for Co film-thicknesses in a range of 0.4–12 nm using a combination of surface sensitive imaging, diffractive, and spectroscopic methods. In situ photoemission electron microscopy reveals a dependence of the intercalation temperature on the Co film-thickness. Using low energy electron diffraction and photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), we find that the SiC surface reconstruction is partially lifted and transformed. We show that the
R30° reconstruction does not prevent silicide formation for Co film-thicknesses ≥0.4 nm according to XPS and x-ray absorption spectra. Our results indicate that the silicide formation is self-limited to a thin interface region and is followed by Co intercalation between graphene and silicide. Furthermore, we analyze the magnetic properties using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the Co L-edge. In-plane magnetization is observed for all analyzed film-thicknesses. For ultra-thin Co films, self-assembled magnetic wires with a width of the order of 100 nm form at the step-edges.
The atomic structure is one key property for any material. Despite great efforts during the last few years unveiling the internal structure of silicon nano-ribbons, analysis of the interfacial structure and bonding was neglected. We report on a comprehensive photoelectron spectroscopy and photoelectron diffraction study that reveals the weak interaction of silicon nano-ribbons with the underlying silver substrate identifying the specific locations of the individual silicon, as well as silver atoms. Furthermore, we provide unique experimental evidence that clarifies the origin of the two distinct chemically shifted components in the silicon photoelectron spectra.
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