RHEED studies of MnF2epitaxial growth on Si(111) substrates

Molecular beam epitaxy was used to grow MnF2films on a Si(111) substrate with a thin CaF2buffer at room temperature. It was found that films thinner than three molecular layers have a cubic fluorite crystal structure inherited from CaF2. The MnF2film is coherent to the substrate and has an interlayer spacing of 0.305 ± 0.005 nm, which is 3% less than for bulk CaF2. Thicker films have the tetragonal rutile structure, so the film surface is the (110) plane of MnF2with its [001] axis parallel to 〈110〉 directions of the substrate. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.