Structure of a zinc oxide ultra-thin film on Rh(100)

The structural parameters of ultra-thin zinc oxide films on Rh(100) are investigated using low-energy electron diffraction intensity (LEED I-V) curves, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations. From the analysis of LEED I-V curves and DFT calculations, two optimized models A and B are determined. Their structures are basically similar to the planer h-BN ZnO(0001) structure, although some oxygen atoms protrude from the surface, associated with an in-plane shift of Zn atoms. From a comparison of experimental STM images and simulated STM images, majority and minority structures observed in the STM images represent the two optimized models A and B, respectively.