X-ray photoemission spectroscopy investigation of the early stages of the oxygen aided Cr growth on Fe(0 0 1)

We report on an X-ray photoemission spectroscopy investigation of the early stages of growth of ultra-thin Cr films on the oxygen-passivated Fe(0 0 1)–p(1 × 1)O surface. The Cr coverages ranged from sub-monolayer up to a few atomic layers. Cr has been grown either at 380 K or at 570 K. Our investigation reveals that during the Cr film growth oxygen floats toward the free surface. The presence of a metallic Cr signal from the very beginning of film growth is discussed in relation to Cr–Fe intermixing and alloy formation at the interface. Our findings are independent from the growth temperature, indicating that it has a very little influence on the chemical interactions at the interface, at variance with the oxygen-free Cr/Fe interface.