Gruppo di Fisica Statistica

The electronic structure of very thin cerium films deposited on Fe(100) and Fe(110) surfaces has been investigated by Ce 3d photoemission. The cerium layers were disordered and the growth was mainly of a two-dimensional nature. Ce 3d photoemission experiments have revealed the formation of a strongly hybridized cerium phase at the interface with iron for both orientations. Obviously, photoemission spectra contain a contribution from bulk cerium and a contribution from the surface where hybridization is reduced. By covering cerium layers with three layers of samarium we have been able to suppress the influence of the surface and we have obtained the contribution from each atomic layer. The electronic structures of these atomic layers are very different from each other and the corresponding photoemission spectra have been simulated with the Gunnarsson-Schönhammer model.