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High-resolution lattice imaging reveals a ‘phase transition’ in Cu/NiPd multilayers

Nature volume 322, pages 814–816 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

Considerable interest has been generated in metal multilayers by the discovery of anomalous variations in their physical properties as a function of layer thickness. Of particular interest is the ‘supermodulus effect’, observed for several multilayer systems at modulation wavelengths of 1.6–3.0 nm, in which an elastic modulus can increase by up to 400% (ref. 1). Various explanations for this effect have been suggested, and as part of an investigation aimed at clarifying the role of coherency strains in multilayer properties we are studying the behaviour of Cu/NiPd multilayers. We have developed transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques which allow the structural characterization of these materials, including the measurement of both the extent of interlayer mixing and the lattice plane spacings. Here we present some of our results in the latter category and discuss data which indicate that a novel form of ‘phase transition’ occurs as the modulation wavelength is decreased.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK

    C. S. Baxter & W. M. Stobbs

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  1. C. S. Baxter
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  2. W. M. Stobbs
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Baxter, C., Stobbs, W. High-resolution lattice imaging reveals a ‘phase transition’ in Cu/NiPd multilayers. Nature 322, 814–816 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/322814a0

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