Electronic and magnetic structure of ultra-thin Ni films grown on W(110)

•Metastable phases are observed in epitaxial, ultra-thin Ni films grown on W(110).•A bulk-like exchange splitting is detected with SR-PES/IPES in Ni starting from 3 ML.•The angular dispersion of Ni states is mapped in thick Ni films with SR-PES.

We studied the electronic structure of thin Ni films grown on a W(110) single crystal, as a function of the Ni thickness, by means of angle-resolved photoemission and inverse photoemission spectroscopy, also with spin resolution. The results are discussed in the light of the different stages characterizing the transition from the pseudomorphic bcc to the fully relaxed fcc phase. A clear spin polarization is detected as soon as a bulk-like electronic structure is observed. In these conditions, we characterized the exchange splitting of the occupied bands at the Γ¯ and M¯ points of the surface Brillouin zone, providing further experimental support to previous interpretations of photoemission spectra from bulk Ni.