J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 21 (25 November 2009) 474213 (7pp) doi: 10.1088/0953-8984/21/47/474213
The uniaxially aperiodic structure of a thin Cu film on fivefold
i-Al–Pd–Mn
K Pussi1, M Gierer2 and R D Diehl3
1 Department of Mathematics and Physics, Lappeenranta University of Technology, PO
Box 20, FIN-53851 Lappeenranta,
Finland
2 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Munich, Theresienstrasse
41, D-80333 München,
Germany
3 Department of Physics, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802,
USAAbstract.
A thin film of copper on the fivefold surface of Al–Pd–Mn forms a structure that is uniaxially
commensurate with the aperiodic structure of the substrate. This structure has been analyzed
using low-energy electron diffraction and is found to consist of a vicinal surface of a
body-centered tetragonal (bct) (100) structure. This bct(100) structure has lattice parameters of
a = 2.88 Å,
b = 2.55 Å and
c = 2.88 Å, with the vicinal surface
making an angle α
of 13.28° relative
to the a–b
plane. This structure provides an explanation for the delayed ordering observed during the
growth of the film. Simple conditions are derived for which the growth of ordered
one-dimensionally quasiperiodic thin films on quasicrystals may be favorable. This finding
is relevant to the use of quasicrystals as a means of matching interfaces in thin film
systems.
Print publication: Issue 47 (25 November 2009)Received 6 April 2009
Published 5 November 2009
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