Growth and Interface Structure of Mn on InP (001)

An attempt to grow single crystalline thin films of body-centered-cubic (bcc) Mn on InP (001) has been carried out by molecular beam epitaxy. In situ reflection high energy electron diffraction and ex situ x-ray diffraction are used to characterize the film and interface structures. It is found that the metastable phase of bcc Mn fails to stabilize on the substrate despite of their perfect lattice-match. This result suggests again the importance of interface structure in the epitaxy of 3d metals on semiconductors.