DIMENSIONALLY INDUCED STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN TITANIUM-ALUMINUMMULTILAYERS

Ti/Al multilayered thin films with a range of bilayer thicknesses have been fabricated by de magnetron sputtering and characterized by trans mission electron microscopy and high resolution electron microscopy. A series of structural transitions in the form of changes in the stacki ng sequence of the closed packed atomic planes in the Ti and Al layers have been observed as a function of the bilayer thickness. A possible explanation for these transitions based on the model initially propos ed by Redfield and Zangwill is presented in this Letter.