Magnetic structure of manganese overlayers on semi-infinite chromium substrate

We report a study of the magnetic behavior of ultrathin Mn films deposited on a Cr substrate using a real space tight binding approach. The magnetism is described in the Hartree–Fock approximation of the Hubbard Hamiltonian. The density of states is calculated within the recursion technique. The magnetic moments of Mn–Cr system up to three Mn overlayers for different crystallographic orientations {(001), (011), (111)} are calculated. The onset of magnetism depends on the faces considered. A sizable induced moment appears in the Cr interface layer. The calculations show ferromagnetic sheets of both metals for the planes {(001) and (111)} and magnetic c(2×2) configuration for the (011) plane. This behavior is consistent with the antiferromagnetic ground states of the constituents.