An X-ray photoelectron diffraction structural characterization of an epitaxial MnO ultrathin film on Pt(111)

An epitaxial ultrathin MnO/Pt(1 1 1) film (13 Å thick) has been grown by reactive UHV deposition of Mn2(CO)10 on Pt(1 1 1) at 200°C in the presence of water. Angle scanned X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) and LEED have been used to structurally characterize the film. The observed 1×1 LEED pattern is in accord with the bulk lattice parameter of a MnO(1 1 1) surface (3.14 Å) and demonstrates that the film is ordered in the long range. Full hemispherical O1s and Mn2p XPD plots have been obtained and analysed on the basis of multiple scattering calculations. The XPD data confirm that the MnO(1 1 1) surface (as a single domain) is exposed and a best fit procedure based on a R-factor analysis provides a direct evidence for a relaxation of the outermost double layer, whose values are similar to those found in other similar systems (CoO and FeO).