Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of europium films

Raw data used for the manuscript: "Structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Europium films epitaxially grown on W(110)" published in Physical Review B.
This study presents a detailed spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) analysis on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties on Europium (Eu) films epitaxially grown on a W(110) substrate.
Utilizing optimized growth parameters, we conduct a thickness-dependent series ranging from the sub-monolayer regime to films as thick as 650 AL.
Atomically resolved STM images of a 130 AL Eu film unveil lateral periodic sequences of bcc(110)-ordered dislocation lines sandwiched between adjacent hcp(0001) segments, effectively relieving stress within the films.
These dislocation lines exhibit a periodicity of p_topo = (3.36 ± 0.11) nm.
Tunneling spectroscopy reveals that the surface of Eu films hosts a pronounced double-peak structure at about U_bias ≈ +0.30 V and ≈ +0.48 V, corresponding to unoccupied sample states.
It is interpreted as an exchange-split dz^2-like surface state which remains robust even within the bcc(110) structure of the dislocation lines.
Magnetically sensitive data reveal a spin spiral with a surface periodicity of p_mag = (2.76 ± 0.19) nm.
The results are discussed in terms of bulk-terminated spin spirals in hcp Eu which propagate along ⟨-1-123⟩ directions in the surface-near region.