Electron quantum interference in epitaxial antiferromagnetic NiO thin films

Jia Xu; Feng Lou; Mengwen Jia; Gong Chen; Chao Zhou; Qian Li; Kai Liu; Andreas K. Schmid; Hongjun Xiang; Yizheng Wu

doi:10.1063/1.5129772

AIP Advances (Apr 2020)

Electron quantum interference in epitaxial antiferromagnetic NiO thin films

Jia Xu,
Feng Lou,
Mengwen Jia,
Gong Chen,
Chao Zhou,
Qian Li,
Kai Liu,
Andreas K. Schmid,
Hongjun Xiang,
Yizheng Wu

Affiliations

Jia Xu: Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Feng Lou: Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Mengwen Jia: Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Gong Chen: Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA
Chao Zhou: Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Qian Li: Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Kai Liu: Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA
Andreas K. Schmid: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Hongjun Xiang: Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Yizheng Wu: Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5129772
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 10, no. 4
pp. 045204 – 045204-5

Abstract

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The electron reflectivity from NiO thin films grown on Ag(001) has been systematically studied as a function of film thickness and electron energy. A strong electron quantum interference effect was observed from the NiO film, which is used to derive the unoccupied band dispersion above the Fermi surface along the Γ−X direction using the phase accumulation model. The experimental bands agree well with first-principles calculations. A weaker electron quantum interference effect was also observed from the CoO film.

Published in AIP Advances

ISSN: 2158-3226 (Online)
Publisher: AIP Publishing LLC
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science: Physics
Website: http://aipadvances.aip.org/

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