Revealing the interfaces of the hybrid system MgO/Co/GaAs(0 0 1): a structural and chemical investigation with XPS and XPD.

Bcc metals and MgO are used in technological research for building magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), because they yield a high tunnel magnetoresistance. Thin insulating barriers are of great importance in realizing MTJs. Combined with electrons spin-injected into GaAs, tunneled electrons can be detected and manipulated. We report on a synchrotron radiation based x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron diffraction study on the system MgO/Co(bcc)/GaAs(0 0 1) for ultra-low Co and MgO coverages ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]). As a result, we obtain a Co3Ga alloy at the Co/GaAs interface in the rare D03 structure. This structure is only 6.07 Å thick, and serves as a template for the metastable Co(bcc) structure. Co(bcc) itself grows heavily distorted in the (0 0 1) direction for the first two unit cells, due to the D03 template. The MgO/Co interface reveals a weak bonding between MgO and Co(bcc) without Co oxidation, since no compound formation was observed. Additionally, MgO grows in an amorphous phase for a thickness of [Formula: see text]. At [Formula: see text], it crystallizes in a compressed unit cell where every second layer is shifted toward the (0 0 1) direction compared to the bulk halite structure.