Properties of Co on Cu(111) revealed by AES and DEPES

Auger electron (AES) and directional elastic peak electron (DEPES) spectroscopies were used to investigate the Co/Cu(111) interface. The change in the Auger Cu (M2,3VV transition at 66 eV) peak intensity (hCu) recorded at room temperature shows that the Co growth mechanism is not a layer by layer type. This proves that Co does not wet the Cu substrate. The recorded DEPES profiles reveal the coexistence of fcc and hcp Co structures already at an early stage of growth (0.8 ML). The Co coverage increase leads to the reduction of intensities associated with the fcc structure and significant increase of the signal from the hcp structure. The comparison between experimental and theoretical data at large coverages (43 ML) shows a major contribution of the hcp structure within the Co layers in the recorded DEPES profiles.