High Resolution Electron Microscopy of Composite Films of Iron and Magnesium Oxide

Composite films of iron and magnesium oxide are prepared by a simultaneous deposition technique. An important feature of the films is that iron is grown epitaxially and separately with the size of around 1 nm inside (001) and (11̄0) magnesium oxide films of about 25 nm thickness. The structures of the films are studied by high resolution electronmicroscopy. The heat treatment of the composite films brings about the grain growth and the phase transformation of iron crystallites from α-iron to γ-iron.