Fe3O4(001)films onFe(001): Termination and reconstruction of iron-rich surfaces

High-quality and impurity-free magnetite surfaces with $(\surd 2\times \surd 2)R45°$ reconstruction have been obtained for the ${\mathrm{Fe}}_3{\mathrm{O}}_4\left(001\right)$ epitaxial films deposited on $\mathrm{Fe}\left(001\right)$. Based on atomically resolved scanning tunneling microscopy images for both negative and positive sample polarity and density-functional-theory calculations, a model of the magnetite (001) surface terminated with Fe ions forming dimers on the reconstructed $(\surd 2\times \surd 2)R45°$ octahedral iron layer is proposed.