Effect of ion irradiation on the structure of Au/Ni multilayers

The effect of 340 keV Kr ion irradiation on the structure of polycrystalline sputtered Au/Ni superlattices was studied. Different structural modifications are observed depending on the irradiation dose range. An ion-induced relaxation of the compressive stresses initially present in the layers is observed even after very small doses ( < "0.5mult10 exp -1 dpa). With an increasing dose, a progressive interdiffusion at the interfaces is clearly observed accompanied by a reduction of the structural disorder and by an improvement of the texture. Finally, at higher doses (8 dpa), a complete mixing is achieved leading to the formation of a metastable fcc polycrystalline solid solution exhibiting a strong (111) texture. Copyright (c) 1996 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.