Fluence-dependent radiation damage in helium (He) ion-irradiated Cu/V multilayers

We have explored the capacity of Cu/V interfaces to absorb helium ion radiation-induced defects spanning a peak damage range of 0.6–18 displacements per atom (dpa). The study provides evidence of alleviated nucleation of He bubbles in the multilayer films from Cu/V 50?nm to Cu/V 2.5 nm. Layer interfaces are retained in all irradiated specimens. Peak bubble density increases monotonically with fluence, and is lower in multilayers with smaller individual layer thickness. Radiation hardening decreases with decreasing layer thickness and appears to reach saturation upon peak radiation damage of 6?dpa. Size- and fluence-dependent radiation damage in multilayers is discussed.     

Superior tolerance of Ag/Ni multilayers against Kr ion irradiation: an in situ study

Monolithic Ag and Ni films and Ag/Ni multilayers with individual layer thickness of 5 and 50?nm were subjected to in situ Kr ion irradiation at room temperature to 1 displacement-per-atom (a fluence of 2?×?10¹⁴?ions/cm²). Monolithic Ag has high density of small loops (4?nm in diameter), whereas Ni has fewer but much greater loops (exceeding 20?nm). In comparison, dislocation loops, ～4?nm in diameter, were the major defects in the irradiated Ag/Ni 50?nm film, while the loops were barely observed in the Ag/Ni 5?nm film. At 0.2?dpa (0.4?×?10¹⁴?ions/cm), defect density in both monolithic Ag and Ni saturated at 1.6 and 0.2?×?10²³/m³, compared with 0.8?×?10²³/m³ in Ag/Ni 50?nm multilayer at a saturation fluence of ～1?dpa (2?×?10¹⁴?ions/cm²). Direct observations of frequent loop absorption by layer interfaces suggest that these interfaces are efficient defect sinks. Ag/Ni 5?nm multilayer showed a superior morphological stability against radiation compared to Ag/Ni 50?nm film.     

Roles of local He concentration and Si sample orientation on cavity growth in amorphous silicon

(111)- and (100)-oriented Si samples were implanted with Si⁺ ions at 1 MeV to a dose of 1?×?10¹⁶?cm^?2 and with 5?×?10¹⁶ He⁺ cm^?2 at 10?keV or 50?keV and eventually annealed in the 800–1000°C temperature range. Sample characterisation was carried out by cross-section transmission electron microscopy, positron annihilation spectroscopy and nuclear reaction analysis. In addition to the formation of He bubbles at the projected range of He, bubbles were observed after solid-phase epitaxial growth (SPEG) of the embedded amorphous Si layer. The He threshold concentration required to obtain thermally stable bubbles in amorphised Si is between one and four orders of magnitude lower than in c-Si. Since bubble formation and growth take place in the a-Si phase, the interaction with SPEG during annealing was studied by considering (100) and (111) Si. Both the SPEG velocity and the resulting defects play a role on bubble spatial distribution and size, resulting in bigger bubbles in (111) Si with respect to (100) Si.     

Atomic and Magnetic Structure of the Interface in Multilayers

Temperature dependence of the magnetic properties of Fe/Ag vacuum evaporated multilayers was studied in a wide range of layer thickness. For Fe thickness larger than 1 nm continuous magnetic layers can be found, but its hyperfine field is significantly lower than that of pure α-Fe at elevated temperatures. It is attributed to a decrease of the Curie temperature due to Ag impurities in the Fe layer. Below 1 nm Fe thickness magnetic relaxation and the formation of a granular alloy with 35 T average hyperfine field was observed. Magnetoresistance results indicate the presence of Fe clusters in the Ag matrix, as well. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Highly flexible transparent and conductive ZnS/Ag/ZnS multilayer films prepared by ion beam assisted deposition

ZnS/Ag/ZnS (ZAZ) multilayer films were prepared on polyethene terephthalate (PET) by ion beam assisted deposition at room temperature. The structural, optical and electrical characteristics of ZAZ multilayers dependent on the thickness of silver layer were investigated. The ZAZ multilayers exhibit a low sheet resistance of about 10 Ω/sq., a high transmittance of 92.1%, and the improved resistance stabilities when subjected to bending. When the inserted Ag thickness is over 12 nm, the ZAZ multilayers show good resistance stabilities due to the existence of a ductile Ag metal layer. The results suggest that ZAZ film has better optoelectrical and anti-deflection characteristics than conventional indium tin oxide (ITO) single layer.     

Transparent conductive ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer electrodes deposited by sputtering at room temperature

ITO/Ag/ITO multilayers have been prepared onto conventional soda lime glass substrates by sputtering at room temperature. The optical and electrical characteristics of single layer and multilayer structures have been investigated as a function of the Ag and ITO film thicknesses. Transmittance and sheet resistance values are found mainly dependent on the Ag film thickness; whereas the wavelength range at which the maximum transmittance is achieved can be changed by adjusting the ITO films thickness. ITO/Ag/ITO electrodes with sheet resistance below 6 Ω/sq have been obtained for Ag film thickness above 10 nm and ITO layers thickness in the 30-50 nm range. These multilayers also show high transmittance in the visible spectral region, above 90% by discounting the glass substrate, with a maximum that is located at higher wavelengths for thicker ITO.     

A transmission electron microscopy study of the deformation behavior underneath nanoindents in nanoscale Al–TiN multilayered composites

Nanoscale multilayered Al–TiN composites were deposited using the dc magnetron sputtering technique in two different layer thickness ratios, Al : TiN = 1 : 1 and Al : TiN = 9 : 1. The Al layer thickness varied from 2 nm to 450 nm. The hardness of the samples was tested by nanoindentation using a Berkovich tip. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was carried out on samples extracted with focused ion beam from below the nanoindents. The results of the hardness tests on the Al–TiN multilayers with two different thickness ratios are presented, together with observations from the cross-sectional TEM studies of the regions underneath the indents. These studies revealed remarkable strength in the multilayers, as well as some very interesting deformation behavior in the TiN layers at extremely small length scales, where the hard TiN layers undergo co-deformation with the Al layers.     

Stabilisation of fcc cobalt layers by 0.4 nm thick manganese layers in Co/Mn superlattices

Epitaxial Co/Mn multilayers (0.75 to 6 nm Co, 0.4 nm Mn layer thickness) have been grown on mica substrates covered by a (0002) Ru buffer layer. The structural properties of these layers have been studied using X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The Co layers, grown as face centred cubic (fcc), were found to be stabilised by the very thin Mn layers. Data obtained using X-ray diffraction and NMR were analysed and found to be in good agreement, while Monte-Carlo simulations were used to interpret the data and calculate the expected diffracted intensity and NMR spectra. The HRTEM data show that the Mn layers give rise to a large strain contrast extending, in the growth direction, over a distance which exceeds the thickness of the Mn layers. The superlattices could be described as having an fcc structure containing randomly located stacking faults with varying densities. The results verify the presence of a dominant, almost perfect phase of fcc stacking, and of a faulted hcp phase, while the number of defects increases with the Co layer thickness. Received 27 October 1999 and Received in final form 29 May 2000     

Growth of he bubbles in al during annealing

Abstract

The temperature dependent growth of He bubbles in Al films implanted at room temperature to various He concentrations is investigated by electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). EELS reveals even the weakest changes in He density within the bubbles by measuring the pressure shift of the He 1¹S₀?2¹P₁ transition. This is applied to investigate the mechanisms driving the growth of bubbles in the temperature range 20°C ? T ? 500°C. For T?200°C indication is found that bubbles relax by emission of interstitial dislocation loops. At higher temperatures bubble migration and coalescence under absorption of thermal vacancies is evident. The final state is characterized by large cavities filled with He at low pressure as evidenced by the detection of the atomic He series.     

Microstructure,indentation and work hardening of Cu/Ag multilayers

Instrumented indentation and tensile tests were performed on free standing Cu/Ag multilayer thin films with layer thicknesses in the range 0.85–900?nm. The effect of layer thickness can be described by a Hall–Petch relationship. The work-hardening rate in the tensile test depends on layer thickness, which indicates that the interfaces create storage sites for dislocations and follows an inverse power law.     

Microscopic properties of Co/Pd multilayers studied by ferromagnetic and nuclear magnetic resonance

The microscopic properties of Co/Pd multilayers were studied by ferromagnetic and nuclear magnetic resonance. The anisotropy of the layer is found to decrease for decreasing Co sublayer thickness and a switching of the magnetic preferential direction occurs below 8Å. The anisotropy is also a function of the Pd layer thickness: below 20Å it increases with decreasing thickness. This is attributed to a decrease in the Pd/Co interface contribution to the anisotropy. Hyperfine field spectra show the layers with [111] texture to be mainly polycrystalline fcc. The spectra shift to lower hyperfine fields upon decreasing Co sublayer thickness. This is attributed to a decrease in the magnetic moment caused by stretching of the Co lattice due to neighbouring Pd atoms. The results were checked by experiments on almost single phased [100] fcc Co/Pd multilayers. The similarity with the results on the [111] layers suggests that the expansion of the Co lattice is nearly isotropic.     

NiFe/Mo多层膜界面的电子显微学研究

用高分辨电子显微学方法研究了Ni₈₀Fe₂₀/Mo磁性多层膜，结果表明：(1)多层膜的结晶状态，随Mo非磁性层厚度而变化.当Mo层厚度为0.7nm时，多层膜基本为非晶；当Mo层厚度大于1.6nm时，Mo层和NiFe层内分别结晶为体心立方和面心立方多晶，层内晶粒尺寸为2—6nm.(2)在Mo层厚度为1.6和2.1nm的多层膜中，NiFe层和Mo层之间存在两种取向关系：(110)_Mo∥(111)_NiFe,［111］_关键词：     

Co-Zr/Pd多层膜的磁性与结构

Co-Zr/Pd多层膜由高频溅射方法制得．磁性合金Co-Zr层厚度固定为1.8nm，改变Pd层厚度0.5—6nm．由振动样品磁强计测量，发现随Pd层厚度增加，磁化强度发生周期性振荡变化，周期约为1nm，这是由Pd层的极化振荡引起的．经X射线衍射测得Pd层厚度超过1.3nm时，磁性合金Co-Zr层发生晶化，而厚的Co-Zr单层膜是非晶结构．X射线大角衍射图中的超晶格峰表明，在Co-Zr层和Pd层之间存在相关生长．而且还发现，随Pd层厚度增加，样品在垂直膜面方向的晶粒尺寸及fcc（111）面的面间距发生周期性 关键词：     

Magnetic properties of Fe/Pt films by symmetrical insertion of Ag

Ultrathin Ag (0.5 nm) pinning layers (APLs) were symmetrically inserted into [Fe/Pt] bilayers to introduce controllable defects on the interfaces between Ag and Fe/Pt multilayers. The highest coercivity 7700 Oe and remanent squareness 0.95 were obtained with five APLs. The large enhancement in coercivity (75% increment compared with that without APL) is due to the relative uniform defects that introduced pinning effects on the interfaces between the APLs and Fe/Pt multilayers. According to the distribution of angule- dependent coercivity of Fe/Pt multilayers without and with APLs, a tendency is suggested of weakened domain-wall motion while enhanced rotation of reverse domain mode.     

垂直取向FePt/Ag纳米颗粒薄膜的结构和磁性

用磁控溅射法在单晶MgO(100)基片上制备了［FePt 2 nm/Ag dnm］₁₀多层膜， 经真空热处理后，得到具有高矫顽力的垂直取向L1₀-FePt/Ag颗粒膜.x射线衍射结 果表明，在250 ℃的热基片上溅射，当Ag层厚度d=3—11 nm时，FePt颗粒具有很好的［001］取向，随着Ag层厚度的增加，FePt颗粒尺寸减小.［FePt 2 nm/Ag 9 nm］₁₀经过6 00 ℃真空热处理15 min后，颗粒大小仅约8 nm，垂直矫顽力达到692 kA/m.这种无磁耦合作用的颗粒膜，适合用作超高密度的垂直磁记录介质. 关键词： 磁控溅射 垂直磁记录 纳米颗粒膜 0-FePt/Ag')" href="#">L1₀-FePt/Ag     

Characteristic difference between ITO/ZrCu and ITO/Ag bi-layer films as transparent electrodes deposited on PET substrate

The metallic-glass film of ZrCu layer deposited by co-sputtering was utilized as the metallic layer in the bi-layer structure transparent conductive electrode of ITO/ZrCu (IZC) deposited on the PET substrate using magnetron sputtering at room temperature. In addition, the pure Ag metal layer was applied in the same structure of transparent conductive film, ITO/Ag, in comparison with the IZC film. The ZrCu layer could form a continuous and smooth film in thickness lower than 6 nm, compared with the island structure of pure Ag layer of the same thickness. The 30 nm ITO/3 nm ZrCu films could show the optical transmittance of 73% at 550 nm wavelength. The 30 nm ITO/12 nm ZrCu films could show the better sheet resistance of 20 Ω/sq, but it was still worse than that of the ITO/Ag films. It was suggested that an alloy system with lower resistivity and negative mixing heat between atoms might be another way to form a continuous layer in thickness lower than 6 nm for metal film.     

Hole mobility enhancement in GaAs/p-Al Ga As QW-HEMT structures with (4 1 1)A super-flat interfaces grown by MBE

Be-doped GaAs/p-Al Ga As QW-HEMT structures with well width of and 50 nm were simultaneously grown on (4 1 1)A and (1 0 0) GaAs substrates by MBE. Be-doping concentration in the p-Al Ga As layer was , and the undoped Al Ga As spacer layer was 6 nm thick. Hole concentration was about for nm. Hole mobility at 10 K in the conventional (1 0 0) samples remained almost constant (about 20 000 cm (V s) for the current in the direction) with decreasing down to 7 nm and it rapidly decreased to 2760 cm (V s) at nm. On the other hand, in the (4 1 1)A samples, hole mobility (10 K) increased from 17 500 cm (V s) nm) to 33 900 cm (V s) nm) and dropped rapidly down to 4090 cm (V s) nm) for a current direction of . This significant enhancement of hole mobility in the (4 1 1)A samples is mainly due to (1) the significantly reduced interface roughness scattering of 2DHG when using the (4 1 1)A super-flat interfaces and (2) the reduced effective mass of holes in the narrow (4 1 1)A QWs ( –20 nm). Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) measurements on the (4 1 1)A QW sample nm) confirmed the reduced effective mass (0.30 ) of holes.     

AlN/NbN纳米结构多层膜的共格异结构外延生长研究

采用射频磁控溅射法制备了NbN,AlN单层膜及不同调制周期的AlN/NbN纳米结构多层膜,采用X射线衍射仪、小角度X射线反射仪和高分辨透射电子显微镜等对薄膜进行了表征.结果表明：单层膜AlN为六方结构,NbN为面心立方结构;AlN/NbN多层膜中AlN为六方结构,NbN为面心立方结构,界面处呈共格状态,其共格关系为c-NbN（111）面平行于h-AlN（0002）面,晶格错配度为013%.热力学计算表明:AlN/NbN多层膜中不论AlN层与NbN层的厚度如何,AlN层均不会形成亚稳的立方AlN,而是形成 关键词： AlN/NbN纳米结构多层膜 共格外延生长 异结构     

Microstructures and strengthening mechanisms of Cu/Ni/W nanolayered composites

Cu/Ni/W nanolayered composites with individual layer thickness ranging from 5?nm to 300?nm were prepared by a magnetron sputtering system. Microstructures and strength of the nanolayered composites were investigated by using the nanoindentation method combined with theoretical analysis. Microstructure characterization revealed that the Cu/Ni/W composite consists of a typical Cu/Ni coherent interface and Cu/W and Ni/W incoherent interfaces. Cu/Ni/W composites have an ultrahigh strength and a large strengthening ability compared with bi-constituent Cu–X (X?=?Ni, W, Au, Ag, Cr, Nb, etc.) nanolayered composites. Summarizing the present results and those reported in the literature, we systematically analyze the origin of the ultrahigh strength and its length scale dependence by taking into account the constituent layer properties, layer scales and heterogeneous layer/layer interface characteristics, including lattice and modulus mismatch as well as interface structure.     

TiCN/TiNbCN multilayer coatings with enhanced mechanical properties

Enhancement of mechanical properties by using a TiCN/TiNbCN multilayered system with different bilayer periods (Λ) and bilayer numbers (n) via magnetron sputtering technique was studied in this work. The coatings were characterized in terms of structural, chemical, morphological and mechanical properties by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoindentation. Results of the X-ray analysis showed reflections associated to FCC (1 1 1) crystal structure for TiCN/TiNbCN films. AFM analysis revealed a reduction of grain size and roughness when the bilayer number is increased and the bilayer period is decreased. Finally, enhancement of mechanical properties was determined via nanoindentation measurements. The best behavior was obtained when the bilayer period (Λ) was 15 nm (n = 200), yielding the highest hardness (42 GPa) and elastic modulus (408 GPa). The values for the hardness and elastic modulus are 1.6 and 1.3 times greater than the coating with n = 1, respectively. The enhancement effects in multilayer coatings could be attributed to different mechanisms for layer formation with nanometric thickness due to the Hall-Petch effect; because this effect, originally used to explain the increase in hardness with decreasing grain size in bulk polycrystalline metals, has also been used to explain hardness enhancements in multilayers taking into account the thickness reduction at individual single layers that make the multilayered system. The Hall-Petch model based on dislocation motion within layers and across layer interfaces, has been successfully applied to multilayers to explain this hardness enhancement.