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arXiv · 2503.15641

Tailoring the Electronic Structure of Ni(111) by Alloying with Sb Ad-Atoms

Anna Cecilie Åsland·Alv Johan Skarpeid·Matthias Hartl·Marte Stalsberg·Adrian N. Rørheim·Johannes Bakkelund·Jinbang Hu·Zheshen Li·Simon P. Cooil·Justin W. Wells·Håkon I. Røst
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Abstract

Surface alloying can alter surface electronic and magnetic properties, which are key parameters when developing new materials tailored for specific applications. A magnetic surface alloy was formed by depositing Sb on Ni(111) at elevated temperatures, yielding new electronic states at the Fermi level and modifying the Ni-derived bandstructure. In particular, it changed the electron occupancy of the spin-polarized surface resonance bands, which may affect the magnetic properties of the surface and its associated many-body effects. By fitting a finite element model to angle-dependent core level measurements, similar amounts of Sb and Ni were found within the first few atomic layers to indicate a near-surface composition similar to the bulk alloy NiSb. Annealing to higher temperatures post-growth further improved the crystalline quality of the surface. Our investigation of the surface alloy's crystallinity, chemical composition, and layer structure lays the basis for future studies of how its electronic and magnetic properties can be modified.

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Anna Cecilie Åsland, Alv Johan Skarpeid, Matthias Hartl, Marte Stalsberg, Adrian N. Rørheim, Johannes Bakkelund, Jinbang Hu, Zheshen Li, Simon P. Cooil, Justin W. Wells, Håkon I. Røst. 2025-03-19. Tailoring the Electronic Structure of Ni(111) by Alloying with Sb Ad-Atoms. https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.15641

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