Growth of Cscl-Type Domains on Icosahedral Quasicrystal Al-Pd-MN

CsCl-type domains with lattice constants of approximately 2.88 A and nm dimensions have been generated by the deposition of Co, Fe, as well as Ni on the fivefold-symmetry surface of icosahedral quasicrystal Al-Pd-Mn and by sputtering this surface with Ar+-ions. The orientational relationship between the domains and the quasicrystal is determined by the optimum matching of their average structure, i.e., the domains possess well-defined orientations mediated by the substrate symmetry. These findings demonstrate the affinity of the quasicrystal structure to the cubic structure. The surface structure has been investigated by means of low-energy electron diffraction and secondary-electron imaging. The chemical composition in a near-surface region has been determined using Auger electron spectroscopy. Longitudinal magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements and scanning electron microscopy with polarisation analysis have been performed in order to detect magnetic ordering in growing films.