Influence Of Chemisorbed Oxygen On The Growth Of Europium Phases On V(110)

A structural and spectroscopic study of Eu exotic phases grown on V(110) reveals the large influence of chemisorbed oxygen on the growth process. While hexagonal Eu layers are obtained on a clean (1 X 1)-V(110) surface, three-dimensional (3D) growth of pure Eu fee islands is induced by the presence of the oxygen-c(6x2) surface reconstruction of V(110). A detailed analysis shows that this Eu phase exhibits a 9.5% reduction of the first-neighbor distance with respect to the bce phase. In both cases (2D and 3D growth of Eu). singular Eu 4d photoemission spectra are observed.