Initial step of hydride formation in single crystalline gadolinium thin films and islands studied on the nm-scale

Highlights: • Hydride formation in Gd films depends on hydrogen pressure and annealing conditions. • Chain formation of disclike islands (diameter about 4 nm) in 1 0 1 0 direction appears. • A triangular shaped structure is observed together with discs. • Transformation to hydride in islands starts from the edges. • All hydrogen induced structures can be removed stepwise by annealing up to 350 °C. - Abstract: The initial steps of hydrogen absorption in gadolinium systems are investigated by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) under ultra high vacuum conditions. Gadolinium is grown on a W(1 1 0) substrate. Smooth films or islands can be obtained depending on the preparation conditions. Exposure to hydrogen leads to modifications of the Gd surface. Small discs with a diameter of a few nm and a height of one atomic step appear. The discs form chains with distinct directions. A triangular shaped structure is observed together with the discs. Areas that are completely transformed to GdH₂ appear, too. The absorption process in islands was also investigated and compared to the behaviour of thin films. All measurements are performed at room temperature. By increasing the temperature, changes of the different modifications can be observed up to the point at which they vanish