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Structural Studies of Sputtered Ni80Co20/Cu Multilayers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

X. Bian
Affiliation:
Centre for the Physics of Materials and Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 University St., Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3A 2T8
Z. Altounian
Affiliation:
Centre for the Physics of Materials and Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 University St., Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3A 2T8
J. O. Ström-Olsen
Affiliation:
Centre for the Physics of Materials and Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 University St., Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3A 2T8
M. Sutton
Affiliation:
Centre for the Physics of Materials and Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 University St., Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3A 2T8
R. W. Cochrane
Affiliation:
Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, C.P.6182, Succ. A, Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3C 3S7
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Abstract

The structure of magnetron-sputtered Ni80Co20/Cu multilayershas been investigated by low and high-angle X-ray diffractometry. Low-angle x-ray reflectivity data reveal well-defined compositional modulation along the film growth direction for a wide Cii thickness range of 5-40 Å. The data analysis, based on anl optical model, shows that interfacial mixing is limited to ∼3-4 Å As the number of bilayers increased from 8 to 100, the interface roughness increased by a factor of 3. Better layered structures were found for relatively thick Cu layers (tCu>10Å). The high-angle diffraction data were analyzed using a trapezoidal model. The results indicate that the films have a polycrystalline structure with a preferred (111)orientation with coherent interfaces of ∼ 100-240 Ådepending on the Cu layer thickness. The relatively large expansion of (111) spacings in NiCo alloy layers gives rise to the lower atomic ordering in NiCo/Cu multilayers.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1995

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References

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