Synchrotron-radiation study of the electronic structure of fcc Mn thin films grown on a GaAs(001) surface.

The epitaxial growth of metastable fcc Mn thin films on a GaAs(001) surface has been achieved at a substrate temperature of 400 K. The development of the fcc Mn thin films as a function of coverage is studied by photoemission with synchrotron radiation. The electronic density of states below the Fermi edge of the bulk fcc Mn phase is measured experimentally. A significant difference of the electronic structures is observed between the metastable fcc Mn phase and the thermodynamically stable a-Mn phase. Possible mechanisms are proposed to account for the experimental result.