TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bouhassoune, Mohammed
AU  - Zimmermann, Bernd
AU  - Mavropoulos, Phivos
AU  - Wortmann, Daniel
AU  - Dederichs, Peter H.
AU  - Blügel, Stefan
AU  - Lounis, Samir
TI  - Quantum well states and amplified spin-dependent Friedel oscillations in thin films
JO  - Nature Communications
VL  - 5
SN  - 2041-1723
CY  - London
PB  - Nature Publishing Group
M1  - FZJ-2014-06279
SP  - 5558
PY  - 2014
AB  - Electrons mediate many of the interactions between atoms in a solid. Their propagation in a material determines its thermal, electrical, optical, magnetic and transport properties. Therefore, the constant energy contours characterizing the electrons, in particular the Fermi surface, have a prime impact on the behaviour of materials. If anisotropic, the contours induce strong directional dependence at the nanoscale in the Friedel oscillations surrounding impurities. Here we report on giant anisotropic charge density oscillations focused along specific directions with strong spin-filtering after scattering at an oxygen impurity embedded in the surface of a ferromagnetic thin film of ​Fe grown on ​W(001). Utilizing density functional theory, we demonstrate that by changing the thickness of the ​Fe films, we control quantum well states confined to two dimensions that manifest as multiple flat energy contours, impinging and tuning the strength of the induced charge oscillations which allow to detect the oxygen impurity at large distances (≈50 nm).
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000345913700003
C6  - pmid:25424343
DO  - DOI:10.1038/ncomms6558
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/172845
ER  -