Observation of spin-polarized surface states on ultrathin bct Mn(001) films by spin-polarized scanning tunneling spectroscopy

We report the observation of a magnetic contrast of up to 20% in the scanning tunneling spectroscopy dI/dV maps obtained with Fe-coated tips on Mn(001) layers grown on an Fe(001) whisker at 370 K. These nanometer resolution microscopy results show that the layers couple antiferromagnetically. By normalizing the dI/dV curves by tunneling probability functions, we found a spin-dependent peak on the body-centered-tetragonal (bct) Mn(001) surface at +0.8 V, whose high spin polarization gives rise to the dI/dV map contrast. Band structure calculations allow one to identify the +0.8 V peak as due to two spin-polarized d(z(2)) surface states.