G. Wouters et al., THE ELECTROCRYSTALLIZATION OF COMPOSITIONALLY MODULATED MULTILAYERS OF TIN AND AMORPHOUS NICKEL-PHOSPHORUS, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 140(12), 1993, pp. 3639-3643
Materials with an artificial layered structure, also known as multilay
ers, have generated interest recently because of their unique properti
es. In this study, the electrolytic synthesis of NiP/Sn multilayers wa
s attempted. Such an alternation of soft and hard sublayers mag improv
e the wear properties. The effect of plating-bath chemistry and curren
t density on the microstructure was studied. Electrochemical measureme
nts were performed to investigate the electrocrystallization of NiP on
tin and vice versa. For the structural characterization scanning elec
tron microscopy, coupled with microanalysis, and Rutherford backscatte
ring spectroscopy were used. The potentiality and limitation of electr
olysis as a process to produce compositionally modulated multilayers o
f small wavelengths are reported.