Evolution of Structure with Spacer Layer Thickness in Electrodeposited Co∕Cu Multilayers

Abstract

An X-ray diffraction study of electrodeposited multilayers with Cu layer thicknesses from revealed that, from structural point of view, three thickness ranges can be distinguished. For , a few percent of hexagonal close-packed (hcp)-Co fraction is present and no superlattice satellite peaks can be observed. For , no hcp reflections can be detected whereas clear satellite reflections appear for around the main face-centered cubic (fcc)(111) reflection. For , these satellite peaks can hardly be seen again. These findings can be explained by the presence of pinholes in the Cu layers for , the formation of a coherent superlattice structure for and the degradation of the multilayer structural quality for . The intermediate Cu thickness range is also characterized by the strongest fcc(111) texture and by the largest structural perfectness. These structural data will be very helpful in explaining magnetoresistance results on the same multilayers.