Ab initio study of the interface properties of Fe/GaAs(110)

TL;DR

This study uses density functional theory to analyze the initial growth and interface properties of Fe on GaAs(110), revealing how Fe coverage influences interface flatness and magnetic behavior, relevant for spintronic device development.

Contribution

It provides the first ab initio analysis of Fe/GaAs(110) interface growth, highlighting the effects of Fe coverage and flux rates on interface stability and magnetic properties.

Findings

Low Fe coverage leads to highly diffusive interfaces.

Higher Fe coverage stabilizes flat interfaces.

Magnetic moments remain stable across coverages.

Abstract

We have investigated the initial growth of Fe on GaAs(110) by means of density functional theory. In contrast to the conventionally used (001)-surface the (110)-surface does not reconstruct. Therefore, a flat interface and small diffusion can be expected, which makes Fe/GaAs(110) a possible candidate for spintronic applications. Since experimentally, the actual quality of the interface seems to depend on the growth conditions, e.g., on the flux rate, we simulate the effect of different flux rates by different Fe coverages of the semiconductor surface. Systems with low coverages are highly diffusive. With increasing amount of Fe, i.e., higher flux rates, a flat interface becomes more stable. The magnetic structure strongly depends on the Fe coverage but no quenching of the magnetic moments is observed in our calculations.