This study presents a detailed spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) analysis on the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties on europium (Eu) films epitaxially grown on a W(110) substrate. Utilizing optimized growth parameters, we conduct a thickness-dependent series ranging from the submonolayer regime to films as thick as 650 AL. Atomically resolved STM images of a 130 AL Eu film unveil lateral periodic sequences of bcc(110)-ordered dislocation lines sandwiched between adjacent hcp(0001) segments, effectively relieving stress within the films. These dislocation lines exhibit a periodicity of $p_{\text{topo}}=(3.36\pm 0.11)$ nm. Tunneling spectroscopy reveals that the surface of Eu films hosts a pronounced double-peak structure at about $U_{\mathrm{bias}}\approx +0.30$ V and $\approx +0.48$ V, corresponding to unoccupied sample states. It is interpreted as an exchange-split $d_{z^2}$-like surface state which remains robust even within the bcc(110) structure of the dislocation lines. Magnetically sensitive data reveal a spin spiral with a surface periodicity of $p_{\text{mag}}=(2.76\pm 0.19)$ nm. The results are discussed in terms of bulk-terminated spin spirals in hcp Eu which propagate along $\langle \overline{1}\overline{1}23\rangle$ directions in the surface-near region.

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• Electronic structure
• Magnetic anisotropy
• Magnetic order
• RKKY interaction
• Spin texture
• Surface states
• Ferromagnets
• Magnetic thin films
• Rare-earth magnetic materials
• Low-energy electron microscopy
• Scanning tunneling spectroscopy
• Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy