Angle-resolved photoemission and low-energy electron diffraction were used to study thin films of DyNi(001) grown in situ under ultra-high vacuum conditions by co-deposition of Dy and Ni onto a W(110) substrate and subsequent annealing. Guided by the results of electronic structure calculations an observed (3 x 1) overstructure of the low-energy electron diffraction pattern and the appearance of a Dy 5d-derived surface state at the Fermi energy were explained by a reconstruction of the (001) surface resulting from missing Ni rows in the topmost atomic layer. Similar to metallic Gd(00•1) the d-like behaviour of the obtained surface state could influence surface magnetic properties of thin films of DyNi.

Electronic Structure and Surface Reconstruction of DyNi Films Grown on W(110). S.L.Molodtsov, W.Schneider, A.B.Preobrajenski, J.Boysen, M.Richter, T.Chassé, C.Laubschat: Surface Science, 2001, 482-485[1], 746-51