Thickness dependence of the electronic structure of ultrathin, epitaxial Ni(111)/W(110) layers

Ultrathin, epitaxial Ni(111) layers on a W(110) substrate have been investigated by means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation (9 eV{≤}h{ν}{≤}25 eV). Layers in the submonolayer regime exhibit strictly two-dimensional behavior, while the k_⊥ dispersion starts to develop for layers with thicknesses d{≥}2 atomic layers. The formation of the bulk band structure of Ni is almost completed for only five atomic layers of Ni.